Realizations Redux
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: On a trading mission turned ambush, Samantha Carter and John Sheppard are trapped on a crippled yet undetected Jumper by the Wraith. Rewrite of my fic "Realizations" More Details inside.
1. Dairy Tends to Go Sour

_**Realizations – Redux**_

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_**Timeline: **__This story takes place between __**Trio**__ and __**Midway**_

_**Premise:**__ On a trading mission turned ambush, Samantha Carter and John Sheppard are trapped on a crippled yet undetected Jumper by the Wraith. With only each other, and 2 days of waiting till reinforcements arrive, they fight to both save their Jumper from catastrophic failure, and survive the cabin fever by getting to know each other. Will their thoughts and feelings towards each other change after the ordeal? _

_**Genre:**__ Action, Adventure, Friendship/Preship, Humor, H/C_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Not my characters, they belong to people with way more money and scary looking lawyers. (Although my lawyer is a ridiculously cute 5'2'' Irish chick who verbally destroyed a bouncer at a club… true story!) I'll put them back! Promise!_

_**Author's Notes:**__ For those who remember, (or click on my Author Link) my first SGA Fanfic was an action packed ship between John Sheppard and Samantha Carter… with tons of grammatical errors, convoluted OC's that did little more than just stand there like virtual cameras, waaay too many details on unimportant stuff and pacing issues. Now that I've had plenty of practice and learned a lot. I've decided to rewrite it in a much superior style._

_In a way I've turned the story into a Sheppard/Carter friendship/Preship fic in the same vein as what they tried with Ronon/Keller (Sorta wish they'd pushed it further). The goal I have is to write something that is not necessarily AU, and is true to both the show and the characters, so quite a significant portion of the story, plot, and characters have been revised._

_Chapters will be decently long (4-6k words) so chapters every few days as they get proofread and betaed. While not on the site, I do thank my Beta "Dephany" who loves Sam/John as well._

_The beginning of each chapter will have my favorite dialogue from each chapter. (Expect serious sarcasm and snark)_

_Hope y'all enjoy the Redux! :D_

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_**Chapter 1 – Dairy Tends To Go Sour**_

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_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__"Nice going John. You take a nap and end up getting us invited to a harvest marriage festival."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Uhh… you're welcome?"_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__*Looks to the skies*_ "_Why oh why do you take such pleasure in tormenting me?"_

_----------------------------------_

"_Someone wanna remind me why we're still getting these?"_

John's strained voice from carrying the heavy bag of Tava Beans over his now sore left shoulder drew chuckles from his team, but Teyla seemed to be the only one who wanted to answer. _"Come now Colonel Sheppard. If the Atlantis Expedition wishes to be seen as a friend to the people of Pegasus, trade must continue."_ Her voice was strained as well. She carried a smaller bag, but still moved slowly from her obvious pregnancy. _"I will admit I was not expecting such a generous first trade." _The hint of sarcasm denoted just how much time she'd spent with these people.

Ronon on the other hand seemed jittery. He carried two fifty pound bags of the beans and still looked like he could carry more. Turning around and walking backwards effortlessly over the well trodden path, he chuckled to Teyla. _"Yeah but… why beans, or more importantly, why us?"_

Dr. Rodney McKay, the team's scientific expert, brainiac, resident panic attack specialist, and general preventer/causer of horrible physics and science related doom, chuckled as he chewed on a protein bar. The very concept that he could carry a bag of the beans was preposterous to him. _"I really don't see the problem guys. Teyla's right, and besides, these beans taste pretty good!"_

Sheppard was fuming. Not only had Carter overridden Teyla's inactive status to give the pregnant women something to do for a day so she would stop driving her mad with cabin fever, although he could sort of understand the _'Oh god, someone __**please**__ give her something to do so she stops giving me that evil eye!' _way Carter had explained it to him. Not only had he been lugging this heavy bag of Tava Beans for almost 2 kilometers because Carter didn't want to risk exposing the transport MALP, but now he had to deal with the fact that Rodney was on strict orders to not carry anything above 15 pounds from Atlantis Medical.

Needless to say, he needed to vent. John's sarcastic tone was laced heavily with frustration. _"Maybe that's because you haven't had to carry fifty pounds of the stuff across rough terrain!"_

Rodney gave John his trademarked indignant look. It was a mixture of shock, hurt, and utter amazement that John could even suggest such a thing. _"Sheppard! You know I can't lift anything right now! Not with my back hurt and all!_

John was about to chew him out when Ronon answered for him. _"McKay… you had a bad dream and fell out of bed… a week ago. Get. Over. It."_

The hearty chuckles from the Pegasus natives in the group calmed John down. They were just about to reach the gate and the transport MALP was in plain view. McKay was spitting back something about progressive spinal disk injuries and the lack of medical voodoo to heal it, but John was too happy to finally put the heavy bag down to even pretend to pay attention.

It had been a productive few months to say the least. First the Replicators had been completely annihilated by the joint task force of the Humans, Travelers, and the Wraith. And even better, they'd evened the score with the Wraith for so many transgressions by blowing up their mass cloning operation by quite literally dropping a captured hive onto the base.

Needless to say, the Wraith were on the defensive after the Replicator attacks, and then losing such a valuable outpost. It was rare to hear about the Wraith doing more than simple raiding attacks.

This village had since been found by Atlantis Recon – 2, led by Major Lorne, and the village elder had insisted on speaking with the leader of the Expedition, Colonel Samantha Carter. The Colonel had just finished healing from a broken leg during an unfortunate accident in an abandoned Genii mining facility, and despite recriminations from Chief of Medical Dr Jennifer Keller in Atlantis, she had made the trip to negotiate with the Elder.

Atlantis Recon – 1, being the flagship team of the base, had been assigned as her escort for the mission. It wasn't often that both leaders of the city were off-base, but with such a low risk now it seemed relatively harmless.

To John and his team, it really was a milk run. Typically they'd be the ones to infiltrate Wraith facilities, blow stuff up, and still make it out in one piece with a sarcastic comment or two. But with the exception of having to carry a heavy bag, John didn't mind.

Rodney had now finished accusing his teammates of verbal abuse, and was now inputting orders to the Transport MALP to send it back through the gate to Atlantis. John wiped the sweat off his brow as he began to punch in the gate address. _"I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in saying 'I hope that's the last time we have to do this.'"_

Ronon chuckled, and swung both his bags up and onto the MALP; he helped Teyla lift her bag as he replied. _"Since when are you lazy?"_

Teyla smirked and held her round belly as she breathed in and out with effort. _"Despite the load, it is good to be off Atlantis again."_

Rodney scoffed as he continued to work on his Tablet. He spoke between chews. _"Well lucky for you guys, part of the deal Sam's working on is the outpost we've set up here. Since we can't really give Atlantis's address out to just anyone, it's gonna be like a trading outpost for this and a few other worlds." _He finished his bar and crumpled the wrapper as he tossed it over his shoulder._ "The outpost will have a staff dedicated to doing stuff like this." _

Teyla looked to Rodney, then to the wrapper on the floor, and then a sternly motherly look back to him. _"Rodney…"_

Rodney made an innocent, and utterly ignorant look. _"Hmm? What?"_

She pointed daintily to the litter on the ground and smiled politely. Ronon chuckled and John sighed. _"Pick it up Rodney… you don't want to run the risk of getting beaten up by a pregnant lady. Just think of the amount of teasing you'd get."_

Rodney, finally understanding, grumbled as he knelt down to pick up the wrapper. _"Yeah yeah… but of course most of it would come from you so I'm not that scared seeing as you already persist at it."_

John finished punching in the gate address, and the great blue vortex splashed open and formed a stable event horizon. No matter how many times John saw it, it was still impressive. He looked to Ronon and gave him an imperceptible nod. Ronon quickly returned it, ready to back John up with whatever he was about to do.

John turned around just as Rodney inputted the 'go' command for the MALP and spoke as both it and the IDC confirmation code traveled through the active gate. _"Yeah well… how 'bout y'all head back to Atlantis and I'll go make sure Carter doesn't dawdle."_

Rodney instantly perked up at the mention of their beautiful golden haired commander. _"Oh... uhh… I'll come with you…"_

John shook his head and shrugged. _"Nah… don't worry about it McKay. Prolly just gonna sit around and snooze while she negotiates. No sense both of us wasting our time."_

Rodney took a step forward and moved into a defiant posture. He wasn't military, and John couldn't technically order him to go, but before he could say a word in ire, Rodney felt Ronon's stiff iron grip grab him from his collar. _"He's right… don't you have like a million things to do back home little buddy?"_

John chuckled, and once again blessed Ronon for his unwavering support. He didn't bother paying attention as Rodney made some weak attempt at convincing the Satedan to let him go, but he did laugh as he tried to bribe him with chocolate. Little did Rodney know that over the course of several months, the fierce warrior had stockpiled an impressive amount of the dairy delicacy through some well made bets on himself in sparring tournaments.

Truth be told, he wouldn't mind Rodney's company, but having heard from plenty of heated gossip from SGC personnel and Sam herself about them, it would probably be better to keep the two of them separate while off-base, and especially during tense negotiations.

It was a beautiful day really, a bit hot for John's tastes, but as soon as the gate shut off with his teammate's now untold light years away, he stretched his arms and felt the P90 personal defense weapon on his chest bounce in response. He wiped even more sweat off his brow, spent a moment wishing for a hat, and then set back along the path to the village where they'd left Colonel Carter.

It never ceased to amaze him how all these worlds in Pegasus looked so similar. Rodney had mentioned that it looked very similar to the forests of Vancouver and was given credence by Sgt. Chuck Campbell, Atlantis resident gate technician and go-to guy for anything related to maintaining the city that also happened to be Canadian.

The forests were a welcome change to John, who before joining the Atlantis Expedition and basically having his life turned upside down for the better, had spent more than a year at McMurdo Air Force base as a transport pilot for a classified outpost near the pole which he later found out was an Alteran Weapons outpost.

Then again, before McMurdo, he'd been stationed in Afghanistan where it had been so ridiculously hot, John had ordered almost two thousand dollars worth of UnderArmor sweat wicking clothing just to endure the agony. The relatively temperate conditions of these new worlds was everything he could have asked for.

He pushed the pair of Oakley's Crosshair sunglasses up onto the bridge of his nose and walked at a refreshing pace back towards the village. Despite hoping that Carter had finished negotiations, he wouldn't mind sticking around for a bit to relax.

It wasn't long before he neared the edge of the village, it was much like the dozens of other's he'd visited in the past, bustling with merchants, kids playing in the street, and dozens of people minding their own business after a glance at him. They were at an Iron Age level of technology, but with a large agricultural area, they were avid traders to anyone coming through the gate.

John found Carter where they'd left her, in a village bistro chatting with the village Elder. Even as they waved him over he absentmindedly wondered why every damn village he encountered had to have 'Elders' in charge.

Carter smiled warmly at him and raised an eyebrow. _"Colonel Sheppard, back so soon? Where's your team?"_

John shrugged, and now taking the seat that the Elder motioned for him to sit replied succinctly. _"Sent 'em back through the gate. Figured you might want some company."_

Carter snickered a bit and nodded. _"Sure, the more the merrier."_

The Elder on the other hand had called over one of his servants. As the young man approached, he looked to John. _"Colonel Sheppard, would you prefer wine or ale?"_

John looked to Carter, whose eyes narrowed just slightly. He knew that expression really meant _"No Booze"_ and held his hand up in polite declining. _"Thanks Elder… but water or juice would be fine."_

The Elder leaned forward with a puzzled look to both John and Sam. _"Do your people not drink spirituous beverages?"_

Carter shook her head and in a very diplomatic voice answered. _"It's not that we don't drink Elder. But it is a custom of our people to only drink such beverages at a time of celebration or festivity."_

John nodded in agreement, and felt the need to add his voice to the conversation. He hooked his thumb to Sam as he spoke _"What she said."_

The Elder laughed at the Atlanteans manner of camaraderie, and placed his order for a glass of juice and a mug of Ale for him. John couldn't help but notice the hint of a smile on Sam's lips. He appreciated that it was probably easier to for her to negotiate with an intoxicated man than a sober one.

In fact, John appreciated Sam for a hell of a lot more. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to accept someone other than Doctor Weir as the leader of the Expedition. But time and experience had proven to him that Sam was more than capable. She wasn't Elizabeth, but he had the nagging suspicion that Sam would have been high on the shortlist of Elizabeth's choices to replace her.

John smiled his boyish grin to Sam, and felt a little pleased that she blushed a tinge. He'd always had an easy going relationship with his commander since they seemed to think on the same wavelength, but he still noted with glee that she wasn't above blasé flirting.

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John awoke to a voice in his direction. _"So Colonel Sheppard, will you accept our invitation?"_

When had he fallen asleep? He guessed that with his sunglasses on neither of them had noticed. John's lack of snoring probably made the entire thing believable. Both the Elder and Sam looked to him expectantly. He fell back on his instincts and tried not to look like a complete idiot. _"Uhh… sure! I'd… be honored to accept."_

Perhaps his instincts for fun had been misplaced, as Sam now winced and struggled not to laugh. She looked to the Elder and with a slight hesitation, nodded and held her hand out. _"Very well elder… Our party will arrive tomorrow night to join in the festivities. Thank you."_

The Elder smiled and shook both her and John's hand in celebration. With a smile and a spring to his step, he left the table and waved his entourage into tow.

John was mighty powerful confused, but looking to Sam he felt he should be feeling bad or ashamed or some kind of negative feeling. Her words were icy sarcasm despite the smile on her face. _"Nice going John. You take a nap and end up getting us invited to a harvest marriage festival."_

With a forced smile, John replied instinctively. _"Uhh… you're welcome?"_

Sam cracked into a titter, and shook her head and gazed up at the now darker sky. She spoke to some unknown deity. _"Why oh why do you take such pleasure in tormenting me?" _Sam turned back to John and snickered. _"If you get hitched tomorrow night, don't come crying to me to look for the divorce papers. I'm fresh out after P8X-438."_

John recalled the planet. Lorne had taken McKay on a trip to a Lantean ruin site along with a few new trainee Airmen and Marines. As it turned out, the people of that planet were convinced that their arrival heralded the return of their god of love and invited them to partake of their celebration. _'Oh God…'_ was the only way to describe the Harem that now awaited AR-2's return to the planet. He kept his voice calm, and shook the exhaustion from his eyes. _"Uhh… don't think that'll happen Ma-am. I've already been through one and Teyla's been real good at keeping the Elders from adding me into the negotiations."_

Sam laughed, and held her hand out to him… He'd been divorced already? _"Come on John. We've still got an hour before Atlantis starts to worry and I wanna explore a bit."_

He accepted her hand, and with a stretch and yawn he looked around. The village activity had died down a fair amount, and they now had some time to explore. Sam loved being able to just talk with various village folk without the threat of constant doom, something John agreed with. They found out more about the village history, and the other villages in the area.

John had found a group of kids playing something akin to football, and instantly gained rapport with them by giving them a few pointers. One in particular, a tallish young boy with freckles and a surprisingly familiar patch of tousled black hair took an instant liking to the Atlanteans and was talking to them.

During the course of the conversation, they found out that most of the village had never seen snow; something which John was thoroughly surprised over. John spent the next 10 minutes trying to explain how much fun it could be, ending with the explanation of how to build life-like snowmen. Sam could barely resist laughing as the child gave a sudden fearful expression, and asked John if said snow monsters plagued his village.

The expression John made at such a confusing and innocent question rivaled that of Jack O'Neill's expression when told about Neutrinos and trying to explain to Daniel that _ 'Nintendo's' _pass through everything, including radiation suits. It was surprisingly stress relieving.

John finally ruffled the kid's hair and sent him on his way. Despite her longing to stay and explore, she knew there was work to do back home and motioned to him. _"Time to go."_

John nodded, although with a little sadness, and stepped in behind her decently paced gait. He waited till they were out of earshot and spoke in a more serious tone. _"So hey… Is it just in Pegasus, or do all Village Elders put you to sleep with their babble?"_

Sam smirked at his wording. _"Oh yeah. There's a reason Stargate Ops issues cough drops to negotiation teams and it's not so they don't offend the Elder with a sneeze. My throat feels like sandpaper."_

John chuckled, and kept his serious yet casual tone. _"Well hey, I'll buy ya a beer back on the base to celebrate the…" _John froze in his speech and realized something. _"Uhh… we did secure the rights and supplies we wanted right?_

Sam didn't hold back her laughter at his expense, and patted him on the shoulder. _"Yes… while you were busy taking a cat nap, I managed to avert diplomatic disaster…" _She lost a bit of her smirk and spoke softer. : _"…and about the beer… I __**really**__ wish I could but there's a stack of paperwork the size of Mount Olympus waiting for me back home. Thanks though."_

Sam meant it, John had been an unyielding support in her almost year of commanding Atlantis, and she was sure that without his constant backup and dedication, things would not have gone nearly as well as they had for her. It was easy to be friends with the man, and his constant flirtatious behavior belied just how much of a loyal person he was.

It was hard to admit, especially since she'd still hoped that things could work out with Jack back on Earth. But with no end in sight to her assignment to Pegasus, it seemed less and less likely for anything to fact that John was there to act as a sort of relief valve for the elements of her personality she'd been repressing for so long was something of a novelty.

It wasn't anything more than a simple little crush. The man had enough boyish charm to already have a reputation in the entire Galaxy, and in all honesty, Sam wasn't dead. She had caught herself on more than one occasion staring… actually staring at him and wondering how the man could not be attached to anyone.

John's voice broke her train of thought. _"That reminds me, I told you before you came that I was glad I wasn't in your shoes right?"_

If it weren't for the man's perfect boyish grin, the untamed Adonis-like being he called his hair, the way his deep eyes seemed to change color on a weekly basis, and the obvious sarcasm in his tone, Sam would have gladly verbally torn him a new one. _"Why yes John… Right when we met the Elder for the first time too."_

John chuckled, and stretched his neck using his hands. _"Oh good… so I don't have to remind you again."_

Sam laughed, and decided to change the subject. _"Jackass, At least I'm gonna get to try these beans finally. Tava sounds like some kind of Coffee."_

John shrugged off her name-calling, and also his shoulders. _"To be honest they're not bad. Make a mean chili with the right ingredients."_

Sam cocked her head. It was rare for her second in command to ever talk about his likes, dislikes, or anything concerning him at all. He danced on the razor blade of within and outside regulations all the time, but after so many years with Jack O'Neill, she had long decided to keep things relatively loose and friendly with her subordinates.

That is, unless it was crunch time. Then she became the black widow from hell if they didn't fall into line. Thankfully John had always acquiesced to her command not through belief in the chain of command, but rather because he agreed with her. It made for an easy time commanding the base.

Because of that, she was willing to accept a little harmless teasing and flirting from him as long as he kept it civil, and most importantly, private. Sam teased him back just as bad whenever she got the chance, and besides, John Sheppard was a damned funny man. _"Chili? You like Chili?"_

John feigned offence, and straightened his posture as they reached the halfway point of their walk back to the Stargate. _"Well… yeah… as much as the next guy. It's just one of those little things you kinda miss from Earth." _John got a nostalgic expression _ "Like Ferris Wheels."_

Sam snorted, and with a snicker and teasing tone replied. _"Ferris Wheels?" _

John sighed emphatically, He'd had this argument too many times. _"Yeah you know… Ferris Wheels. At a carnival or…_"

Sam shook her hand, bumping into the P90 strapped to her vest on the way up. _"No no… I know what they are… It's just… Ferris Wheels?"_

It wasn't often she got the chance to tease him back. He was usually so stoic even under the strangest circumstances. It had been hell for Sam to keep from bursting out laughing when before she set out for the mission where she'd broken her leg he pulled out a lollipop from his vest during their briefing. It was by far one of the most random things she'd seen the man do and it still amused her. So Sam gladly returned a dashing slice of the razor wit she'd been enduring, although with a smile.

John on the other hand was flustered. Why did everyone have to rip him about this? _"What does everyone have against Ferris Wheels? I like em!"_

Sam giggled. _"I shouldn't laugh, I know I shouldn't. But you've got to admit that's a pretty obscure thing to reminisce about."_

John grunted, and looked away indignantly. _"You can't tell me you don't find them fun…" _He turned with sudden fear in his eyes._ "You do find them fun right?" _

Before Sam could reply, a distinctive whine in the air could be heard coming from the gate about a kilometer away. John instantly bristled and grabbed a hold of his P90 as their radios crackled to life. _"This is Outpost Beta One to any Atlantean forces still in the area, do you copy!?"_

Sam clicked her radio even as they moved to the side to take cover by the trees. She didn't recognize the whine but knew nothing good made a sound like that. _"Copy Beta 1, this is Colonel Carter with Colonel Sheppard. What's going on?"_

The voice of a panicking man came through a moment later. _"Sir, Lieutenant Darrows here. Sensors report 4 Wraith Darts have just come through the gate along with an unknown number of ground forces! They've engaged our outpost and are moving towards the village!"_

Sam and John shared dark looks. What should have been a milk run now became something much worse.

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	2. Plugging the Drains

_**Chapter 2: Plugging The Drains**_

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_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__"You thinking what I'm thinking?"_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "Want anything from their Armory?"_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter:**__ "Pick me up in the village?"_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"It's a date!"_

_------------------------------------_

"_Lieutenant, this is Colonel Carter. Wipe all computer data at the outpost and begin evacuation procedures. Only engage the Wraith if they threaten your retreat."_

John kept a watchful eye on the path, expecting Wraith to come soon. _"These P90's aren't gonna put much a dent in those Darts… Most likely ground troops heading to the village… How much ammo you got?"_

Sam quickly checked along her vest and body, there wasn't much. _"3 clips plus what's loaded."_

The lieutenant came back over the radio. _"Copy that Colonel, There's a problem though. We've got a Jumper in the base and none of us have the gene!"_

Sam grunted in frustration, she hadn't taken the Gene Therapy for personal reasons, and now only John was left to fly it. _"You thinking what I'm thinking?"_

John nodded and racked the first round into his P90. _"Want anything from their Armory?"_

Sam nodded and motioned towards the Village. _"Pick me up in the village?"_

John smiled deviously and nodded. _"It's a date!"_

Without another word, John began to set out for the outpost by running through the dense forest. Sam took a deep breath and made for the village.

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"_Colonel Carter… my people are not warriors… we have nothing but swords and bows with which to defend ourselves! How can we possibly fight the wraith?"_

Sam tried to be reasonable, but having never engaged the Wraith herself during a culling, only knew from mission reports what seemed to work. _"Do you have any caves nearby? Some place you can hide from them until we're able to send reinforcements?"_

The Elder scratched his head, but one of the younger men stepped forward. _"Yes… there is a cave near the river not too far from here. The children know where it is…"_

Sam nodded and looked to the people around them. They weren't warriors, they weren't soldiers, and the few that now armed themselves were young, maybe only 20 or 30 years old.

It had been awhile since Sam had seen heavy combat, the last engagement she took part in was the holding action on Odyssey against the IOA's idiotic concept of using Replicators as weapons. Even then she'd hardly fired a shot. Against the Ori, most of their battles involved the words "_running_" and "_away_"

In fact that last time she'd really gotten into a pitched firefight was quite similar to this; holding the line against superior numbers of forces. They'd killed a Prior that day, and secured the help of Tomim.

Sam pushed that all aside, and motioned to the people who were around her. _"Listen, even with my weapons I can only hold them off for a a few minutes at best. Our outpost has weapons but it's already under attack. Everyone should evacuate to the caves and wait until it becomes all clear."_

The elder nodded and took Sam's hands gingerly. _"You have my people's thanks Colonel."_

He moved off, and many of the younger people went with him. A few of the older ones with swords and bows stayed though. Sam couldn't ask them to stay. _"You should go with your people. The Wraith are coming in force."_

The eldest of the men there, probably only 30, shook his head and drew his sword. _"We'll stay and fight, it'll give our families more time to escape."_

Sam appreciated the thought, and recalled many times in the Milky Way she'd heard much of the same. They weren't going to listen to her pleas for them to leave and Sam was already out of time. _"Alright… anyone with bows or throwing spears should get in a high position. Those of you with swords or knives should try and hide in buildings to wait till the Wraith get here."_

They nodded, and quickly without words moved into position. Sam decided this bistro was a good position for her P90 and as she ran up the stairs, radioed Sheppard. _"Colonel Sheppard!?"_

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John winced as the splinters from the tree that had just taken stunner fire washed over his face. His sunglasses kept it from getting into his eyes, but damn that was too close. Reloading his P-90, John rolled to the floor and popped out from behind the cover of the fallen tree and fired a burst into the Wraith Drone that had found him. The bullets tore into the Wraith's gut, spilling his intestines out even as he tried to hold them in. It wasn't dead, but it wouldn't be fighting back as effectively.

A barrage of fire came in immediately after, and John had to roll in the dewy muck to avoid the incoming stunner fire. He leaned against the fallen tree and finally was able to respond to Carter's calls. _"I'm a little busy here!"_

John got up to a crouch and kept moving in a low position. Sam's voice came over his radio as he ducked from yet another blast of wraith fire. _"We're setting up an ambush in the village but I don't think we'll hold long. SitRep?"_

John dropped in a full body roll, slammed against a tree with his back to stabilize himself, and fired on the pair of Wraith drones still after him. He emptied the clip into the beasts and they fell amidst spurts of their own gore. _"'I saw about 20 heading your way, another dozen after me. The Darts are strafing the outpost and I can't raise our men!"_

"_Copy that Colonel! Do you need assistance?"_

John was in a flat out run now, the onslaught of stunner fire burning foliage right behind him. He was only about 50 ft away from the edge of the outpost now and he only had a clip left in his P90. He _wanted_ help, but knew it was better to let Sam help the villagers. _"Negative! I'm nearing the outpost and heading for the jumper! Recommend you…"_ A wraith stun blast flew past his face, the heat making his face tingle with electricity. He rolled to the ground and fired back with a scream, only slightly wounding the Wraith commander in the shoulder leading the squad of drones. _"Arrgh…! …recommend you hold position until Atlantis sends help!"_

The P90 soon clicked empty, and John tossed it to the side as he continued his run. The constant whine of the Darts up in the sky suddenly left the area, something John didn't think was a good thing. Sam's voice filtered through. _"Copy that Sheppard! Hurry! The Wraith are starting their push into the village!"_

John grunted in frustration as he charged through the heavy foliage. The outpost's concrete bunkers looked scorched and pockmarked with bullets. He didn't see any of the outpost's crew and hoped they had been able to fight their way to the gate. The jumper was under cover, and thankfully the Darts hadn't noticed that it was there. He wanted to jump in and take off right away, but feeling the Wraith stun bolt whiz through his hair as he ran told him it wasn't going to happen.

He kicked down the door to the armory room, wraith stun blasts hitting the wall around him getting precipitously close. They were almost on top of him and he needed a weapon.

Locking the door, it gave him precious seconds to run around the stocked weapons grabbing what he needed.

It only took him a few seconds for his experienced hands to arm and load the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon or SAW, and hearing the Wraith begin to break down the door, he spun around and crouched, holding the trigger down on the heavy weapon.

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Sam took deep breaths, and calmly sighted in on the approaching Wraith. 2 of the commanders wearing dark black trench coats as well as their drone escorts. The P90 was a good weapon, but even through they were within range, none of the archers or swordsman below her were. She needed to wait till the last possible second to open fire, and her trigger finger was getting itchy.

They were truly alone. The outpost's crew would mostly likely have been captured already, and with no way of warning Atlantis, Sheppard was her only support. If they had made it through her radio should already have Major Lorne's steady voice promising support.

For half a second, Sam wished she were back in the Milky Way. If Odyssey weren't in orbit, it was likely they could call on a Free Jaffa Ha'tak for support. Here in Pegasus they only had Daedalus and a Jumper if they were lucky.

This wasn't her first time on her own, or even being hunted. It was a little disturbing to think that this was normal operating procedure for her, but nothing could have prepared her better for this than a few years back on the Alpha Site working on the Anti-Kull warrior weapon. A Kull Warrior had spent hours hunting her, and even after hitting it point blank with a UCAV rocket, it was still alive. Sam should have died there, it had her perfectly within its grasp, but pure luck and as always, Jack O'Neill saved her.

That was a few weeks before she'd met Pete… and her whole life became a soap opera…

No… push those thoughts away. No sense regretting anything now. The Wraith were closing… Sam controlled her breathing, tried to keep her pulse under control… and did her best to think about things other than getting the life sucked out of her... or the bad memories she'd just accidentally dredged up.

----------------------------------

The Jumper took off with little issue, and John thanked the deities once more that the small ship had a cloak. He considered engaging the Darts in the air, but that would mean he'd have to shut the cloak off and expose himself.

He had no idea whether or not a Hive was coming, and with the Jumper's sensors showing 4 darts flying around the area, it wasn't a good idea.

Rodney was gonna kill him. He'd tracked Wraith blood and the dirt on it into the Jumper and it was always hell to get the stuff out. He'd have to get new boots as well as pants and it was just another frustration. But he'd unloaded an entire M249 box magazine into the Wraith squad and had by sheer luck not taken fire himself. So if there was a god, he certainly was smiling on John now.

As he neared the village though, Rodney's ire become a secondary issue, a pair of Darts were in the air terrorizing the people on the ground, the scanners told him it wasn't looking good.

His vision was enough though, fallen bodies in the street, mostly human but a few Wraith as well. Sam was probably fighting for her life and she needed back up _now._

So John not-so-carefully swung the Jumper in and set it down just outside the village. He leapt out of his seat and picked up the weapons he'd secured.

Granted, a FIM-92 Stinger Missile Launcher wasn't the kind of weapon he typically used, but the Benelli M4 Super 90 Gas Operated Extended Mag Shotgun was a weapon he'd used before. He ditched any thought of taking a P90 or other automatic weapon as at such close range and in an urban environment, the sheer stopping power of the shotgun would greatly improve his chances against the superior numbers.

John clicked the remote on the hatch, jumped out groaning under the 50 odd kilograms he now carried on his frame, from the missile launcher on his back and flicked the safety on the shotgun in his hands for action.

Crouching proved difficult, but even with the launcher sticking up off his back, John managed to get closer to the sound of screaming and gunfire.

Several Wraith Drones had been killed, but even more of the villagers had been stunned, most had been fed on as well. John saw an all too familiar scene as he entered the main road where the Wraith had taken cover and were firing on windows where arrows, and from one specific window, 5.7 rounds rained down.

John clicked his radio, hoping for an answer. _"Carter! I'm near the Wraith on the ground, how much ammo you have left?"_

Leaning out on a big clay flower pot, John dropped the Stinger to give himself some maneuverability. Sam's voice was indignant. _"Not enough! Start shooting!"_

It wasn't often John got to fire his weapon with a smile, but as he got up and aimed for the Wraith drone nearest him, John couldn't help but feel his lips creep up just a bit.

The heavy buckshot tore into the back of the Wraith Drone, staggering it forward knocking down the two drones in front of it. With another two pulls of the trigger, soon they were taken down as well.

A wraith stun bolt hit the pot next to him, and John was forced to duck for a moment. He watched in horror from behind cover as the Wraith commander picked up a screaming young man, and holding him up with one hand, drove his feeding hand into his chest. John felt the rage begin to enter his veins as the life was sucked out of the other man's.

A pair of Drones charged towards him, he leaned out from the right side of the pot and fired twice, then a third time just to finish reducing them to quivering meat.

The Wraith Commander wasn't nearly as stupid as to charge someone with such a powerful weapon, there were still several drones attacking the Bistro where shots came from, the arrow fire slackened and they weren't hard pressed as they closed in.

John needed to move fast, he wiped the sweat off his brow and reloaded the shotgun as he ran forward behind what looked like a fallen bookcase someone had dropped. The heavy wood had crushed the Wraith Drone underneath, easily killing the creature.

The Wraith commander had seen him, and fired his stunner at John relentlessly. He was just about in range and John rolled to the ground, already filthy with dirt, blood, and caked on mud from trudging in the forest. He rolled to his feet behind a tree and leaned out with the shotgun in perfect position.

The commander charged forward even as he took cover, the drones behind him were peppered with fire from Sam's accurate P90 sharpshooting. John rose to his full height, ignoring any of the stun bolts flying towards him and with a click of the trigger, sent the first of three Twelve Gauge Double Aught Six buckshot shells down towards the Wraith.

With no armor, and only a stylish leather jacket for protection, the Wraith reeled back from the massive impact of the pellets. A large chunk of him was torn clean off, but he still snarled and rushed towards John, and another spray of heavy pellets.

This time one of the Wraith's arms came off, quivering on the floor still alive and trying to survive. The Wraith had gone into a blood lust mode and was almost on top of John now as it raised it's feeding arm.

The final shot was point blank, the barrel in contact with the Wraith's chest. It blew a dinner plate sized hole in him, and sent him flying back into the ground from the sheer kinetic force. John had back pedaled and gotten behind cover but the look of the Wraith's face only a few feet away told him that was way too close.

Sam's voice came in over the radio. _"Nice shooting John! I'm coming down now!"_

John kept frosty, and with the shotgun firmly pressed into his shoulder, cleared the area between him and the Bistro. Once he had Sam in tow, they could haul ass back to the jumper and…

The distinctive whine of the Dart was something he'd grown used to. It unnerved him, but for almost 5 minutes he'd been hearing it non-stop. So when he saw 4 wounded villagers in front of him suddenly scooped, and a hail of fire from another Dart rain down on the Bistro where Sam was, he cursed his lack of preparedness.

"_**SAM**__! Sam come in!"_

No reply. The building shuddered under the fire, and without hesitation began to cave in.

He slung the shotgun around his back. He only had a few shells left and as far as he knew most of the Wraith ground forces had been reduced to trembling meat on the ground. Having fought in Afghanistan served him well here as it was almost like the street to street fighting he'd grown accustomed to there.

Skidding to a halt, worried and enraged that Sam was possibly dead or injured, he furiously picked up the FIM-92 Stinger and shouldered it.

The offending Dart had swung around and began another pass with its main cannons. John took a deep breath, ignored the explosion behind him, and once the Stinger got a good tone on the craft pressed the trigger. The display on the launcher blinked with an almost friendly _"Firing"_ and the 3 kilogram missile spat out in a shower of sparks and flame. John cringed from the sudden blast of heat, and staggered back from the surprising force of the weapon.

The missile streaked up into the sky and traced a lazy arc as its heat tracking sensor tried to distinguish between the plasma bolts in the sky, and the exhaust of the Dart. It spun around the craft once, and John's fears that it had been spoofed were allayed when it shot across the bow of the craft, and tore the ship in 2 with its detonation. The smoking and charred remains of the craft fell to the ground with a clatter, doomed to be engulfed by millennia of forest growth.

The other 3 Darts in the skies, seeing what happened to their wing mate quickly fell back towards the gate.

John grunted loudly in satisfaction, but quickly stopped and with a sudden fear, flat out ran to the Bistro where Sam had been garrisoned. His fear that something had happened to her ate at him, he didn't want to bear the blame of losing yet another commanding officer, especially not now, after starting to really like her.


	3. Dues Pugilis

_**Chapter 3 – Deus Pugilis**_

_**-----------------------------**_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "Sam, your ankle's twisted. We don't have time to argue so sorry but…"_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__*Gets lifted and carried like a sack* "Gaah! Umph… well… this is fun… __What about the villagers?"__"_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "__They're falling back to those caves you mentioned…__Just hang on Sam."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__"__I wasn't really planning on letting go."_

_**-------------------------**_

John was unbelievably relieved to see a small crowd of villagers, some wounded, some not, gathered in front of the bistro. He saw Sam's boots first, as the villagers tended to her.

She was silent amidst the cries of help from the other Villagers, a deep gash along the side of her head and a vacant stare indicative of near shock. Her weapon lay beside her with a nasty dent along it's side rendering it useless, and the young man tending to her looked quite terrified.

John ripped the first aid kit from his vest, and quickly moved in to take over treatment. He'd been wounded before and knew the important things to do, but seeing the wailing men around him realized he was way out of his depth.

"_What happened?" _John looked to the young man beside him.

His reply was soft, and had the distinctive hush of fear in it. _"She was at the threshold when the blast hit… She fell and hit her head on that water trench…"_

Sam groaned softly and held her hand to her head, the gash was bleeding profusely and she tried to keep it shut with pressure. She didn't raise her head to look at John as she drew ragged breaths. Sam's hands trembled from the pain as blood ran down her forearm. _"Sheppard… I'm fine… did you bring the jumper?"_

John tore a strip of gauze out of the first aid kit, and tried to pull Sam's hand resisting hand away from the wound. _"Yeah, it's not far…I shot one of the Darts down and the others are falling back… Hold still!"_

She reluctantly let him press the bandage on her head and winced as he put pressure on it. Sam's small gasp of pain tugged at John's heart. It wasn't so long ago that she'd broken her leg and to be injured again so soon… Sam didn't resist as he took her hand and put it on the new bandage, without words telling her to keep the pressure.

John looked Sam over, dusty, disheveled, and in near shock from her injury. But overall she'd be okay as long as she didn't see anymore combat. He took the rest of the field kit and shoved it into the hands of the young man beside him. _"Go! Help your people… Get the hell outta here before more Wraith come… MOVE!"_

The young man hesitated a moment, but then took the kit and moved off. John sighed in melancholy as he looked over the wounded. Some had been fed on and were weeping in anguish. _"We need to get you outta here Sam… We can send help once we get you to Atlantis. Think you can walk?"_

Sam nodded, still not out of her confused state. _"Yeah… yeah I think…" _She answered his unspoken question, feeling his hands wrap around her shoulders steadying her. _"I'm… just… concussion… I'm fine John…" _Sam knew he wouldn't buy it… but was hoping that this would be the exception that proved the rule.

John scrunched his brow. His commanding officer was _definitely_ not fine and she was just as stubborn as he was. _"Bull, but I'll let Keller be the one to tell you."_

Sam snorted in laughter, god how could John joke around at a time like this? And even worse, how could she laugh? Sam pushed it out of her thoughts and began to get up, only to fall down again and bruise her posterior from the sudden stabbing pain in her right ankle. _"Urrrghhh! Dammit!"_

John tried to catch her, but he still noticed her bounce a bit as she hit the hard dirt. An experienced eye told him right away from the agonizing cry she gave, and the instinctive way she reached for her foot…_"Sam, your ankle's twisted. We don't have time to argue so sorry but…"_

Sam didn't really have any sort of argument in mind except a half screech as John wrapped one arm under her shoulder, the other behind her thigh, and lifted Sam up onto his back fireman style. Somewhere in her mind Sam was screaming at him to put her down as this was _beyond_ humiliating, but the agony kept her scolding to herself. _"Gaah! Umph… well… this is fun.__" _was all Sam could mutter with obvious sarcasm. _ "…What about the villagers?"_

John steadied himself, carrying both her and a shotgun weren't an easy juggling job. _"They're falling back to those caves you mentioned… Just hang on Sam."_

Sam replied in a deadpan voice. _"I wasn't really planning on letting go." _

John snorted, and seeing the villagers finally begin to leave the area, began to jog back towards the Jumper.

He tried not to think about why Atlantis hadn't already sent help, or at least tried to check in. It had been several hours since their last communication and they were due for one now. John kept moving though, once in the jumper they'd be in relative safety. It was so close… not even 5 meters away…

Sam's sudden gasp and fumbling drew him off balance. _"John! Two o'clock! The hell was that!?"_

John looked to where she pointed, a ghostly specter shot between the trees and instantly attracted his attention. _"Crap… Wraith. It's a psychic vision Sam… There must still be a…"_

He didn't finish speaking as even as he fumbled around with the shotgun, a body slam from behind sent John to the side into the forest and Sam flying from his grasp. The shotgun clattered to the ground and John stumbled about trying to regain his balance. The Wraith was wounded, blood over his chest from P90 fire, and even as he heard Sam's excruciating howl as she hit the floor, John tried to draw his sidearm to protect his fallen commander.

John got a trio of shots into the Wraith's gut before taking another hard swipe, this one sending him to the ground and his gun into the brush. He rolled as he hit the ground and groaned in pain. This Wraith was playing for keeps.

John feigned injury until the Wraith was near, it wasn't hard as he already felt his vision blurring from the ferocity of the attack. John then sprang out like a cobra and swiped its legs out from under it.

In hand to hand, John doubted he'd win against a recently fed Wraith. At least not without a weapon. He saw Sam curled up on the floor struggling to get the pain in her leg and head to go away as she clutched them both, and also the shotgun on the floor nearby.

John rolled to the ground and picked up the weapon, but just as he spun around to fire, he felt another thump against his shoulder from the Wraith kicking him.

John reacted instinctively, and lashed out with the butt of the shotgun, it made a pulpy smack against the Wraith's chin, but he brushed it off and threw another punch.

Constant training with Ronon and Teyla had prepared him, and lacking a Banto Stick, John instead swung the shotgun around his wrist and spun around striking the Wraith again.

The brawl like fist fight soon turned into a martial arts dance as they parried, the Wraith surprisingly capable. John was quite possibly the best stick Martial Artist from Earth in the SGC and certainly in Atlantis, but even so, he was hard pressed against even this maimed Wraith commander.

It was relentless, block, parry, strike, though not necessarily in that order. John was already tired from running and fighting previously, and John knew he wouldn't last in this fight much longer.

The shotgun was useless now, dented from constant melee attacks, the barrel was dangerously bent and firing it would likely cause the thing to explode. So John let the Wraith push him back with a roundhouse kick, and using the same momentum from the blocked move spun around using the gun to sweep the Wraith's legs out from underneath.

It was a dangerous move, if John didn't hit hard enough and coordinate properly, he'd just expose his back to the Wraith for no reason. John had never seen a Wraith feed from the back before, but he wasn't tempted to find out.

In the same sweeping motion, John unsheathed his serrated combat knife from his thigh, and drove it into the Wraith's side with a roar of fury as he tripped and fell. It sliced in to the hilt, burying into the Wraith's torso in what should have been a fatal wound.

Instead the Wraith howled in rage, and grabbing John's left arm that held the combat knife, pulled on him hard and flung him to the side.

John felt the sickening crunch and pop as his shoulder was dislocated from the violence of the throw, John would have vomited if he weren't already screaming in agony as his back hit a tree and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

The pain was ludicrous, complete and utter insanity as John convulsed. But almost as soon as he actively realized that his shoulder was dislocated, his vision blurred and the pain subsided. It still burned and ached terribly, but he'd stopped screaming. John's stomach still wanted to make an appearance, but his concentration was enough to only feel sick and not be sick.

The fugue state of his consciousness was terrifying. John could almost see himself push up with his good arm, and sit back against the tree he'd hit. The Wraith nearby yanked the knife out of his side and tossed it to the ground. John was out of weapons.

It took only a few seconds, but the adrenaline that viciously tore into his heart made it seem like hours. The Wraith moved over to him, its feeding hand dancing around as if feeling some sense of appetite. John didn't scream, he didn't try and move, it felt like the resignation had finally gotten to him. He was about to die.

Instead, at the last possible second with the Wraith now leaned over, breathing heavily from his wounds, and the feeding hand up in the air ready to penetrate his chest, John spat what little saliva he had left in defiance, and caught the Wraith's wrist with his good arm as it came down towards his chest.

Normally futile, as a Wraith was much stronger than a human, but in its injured state John managed to hold off the Wraith's feeding hand about a foot away from his chest even as his back and other arm burned in agony.

The Wraith snarled, and hissed at him as it struggled to push the hand down towards his chest.

John suddenly felt a hard punch against his chest winding him, and felt the disgusting taste and texture of thick Wraith blood on his face as a quartet of shots rang out in the forest, 4 hard punches to his chest in total. The Wraith's chest became a tangled mess of torn guts, it wheezed at it tried to breath and still bring its feeding hand to John's chest.

It was weakened, and John realized Sam had pushed past her pain and held her Sig Sauer P229 shakily at the Wraith. The bullets had torn right through the unarmored wraith, and John's vest saved him from the penetrating rounds. John's chest felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer with each shot though, and he fought to push the now mortally wounded Wraith back.

Finally, amidst the now single mindedness of his brain, John managed to inch the feeding hand into a good position, and with the edges of his vision fading, took a final breath before lashing out with a headbutt. Nothing else existed, the pain in his body was disassociated,

The Wraith fell back amidst the fallen foliage. Still alive, still wanting to fight. John crawled over and saw it reaching for its self-destruct device. John didn't take to kindly to such a dishonorable weapon, and grabbing a rock from the floor, shattered the wrist of the Wraith with disgusting cracking sound as he dropped his knee on it. The Wraith hissed violently, trying to fight back with anything it could.

John forgot everything else in the universe; all that existed for him right now was his right arm, the rock it held, and the Wraith's head. With a scream of primal ferocity, John violently forced the rock and the Wraith's head to combine the same space.

It was a nauseating sound, hearing the wraith's skull cave in and its brain squish and ooze out. But John didn't care anymore. He'd survived, and he'd kept his commanding officer alive. John chuckled once almost ruefully before finally letting the anguish his body cried out in overtake him and bring him to the floor in agony, staring up into the beautiful forest sky.

His respite wasn't long though, as he felt Sam's hands pull him up and drag him slowly towards the Jumper. _"Come on John! Snap out of it!"_

Was that her voice? He'd never heard her so worried before. Even during the dozen or so crises that had happened since she took command, never had John heard her speak like this. _"Sam?"_

She groaned in pain as she used her thighs to drag them both to the edge of the now decloaked Jumper, When had he hit the remote? Her voice seemed so far away and yet he felt like telling her to stop yelling. _"Hold on John… this is gonna hurt."_

He looked down at his arm, the elbow at an obscene angle, she leaned next to him and took his arm in a strange motion with one hand on his wrist and the other on his tricep. He only had one thing on his mind though and with a disbelieving accusation, deadpanned. _"You shot me."_

Sam snorted at his accusatory tone, and brushed off the shock of hearing it. _"I didn't really have a choice."_

John looked away from her, now speaking to whoever it was that could mete out some form of justice. _"I can't believe you shot me…"_

Sam had his arm in position, she understood that after getting such a severe beating, he'd be less than lucid from all the endorphins in his system. _"Would you have rathered I not?"_

John was in his own little world, where all he could think about was how ironic it was for his commanding officer to shoot him, when up until now it had always been the other way around. _"I thought you liked me…"_

Sam's own disoriented state didn't stop her from laughing, Here was John Sheppard, great all around guy, strong leader, selfless in the face of adversity… and right now, with his shoulder dislocated severely, 4 bullets lodged into his Kevlar vest, and dozens of cuts and bruises along his body all from defending her… and all he cared about was whether Sam liked him enough to feel bad about shooting him. _"I kinda do…. And that's why this is sorta hard for me to do."_

John finally looked back at her. _"Huh? What?"_

Sam forced a smile, and whispered softly. _"This is gonna hurt John… a lot."_

Without giving him anymore time, as already they had wasted too much, she stuffed a piece of her torn uniform into his mouth, rocked his dangling arm forward, the out to the side and back into position quickly. John's muffled scream of agony, coupled with his sudden trembling as he bared the pain made Sam cringe with guilt.

John doubled over and felt like he was finally going to puke. He was soaked in wraith blood, his left shoulder burned like it had been branded with a hot poker, and now he felt Sam's arms come around him in a reassuring hug. After a few moments of composing himself, he stepped out of his little dream world and spitting the torn piece of cloth out, muttered hoarsely into her hair. _"That… wanged… chung…."_

Sam snorted, and whispered back just as hoarsely, surprised that she got the Futurama reference. _"Tell me about it…"_

John finished ordering himself, and wiping away the thick mess of wraith blood from his face, motioned to Sam to grab a hold _"We're cheesing it… Hold on."_

He didn't pick her up as he did before, this time only looping one arm under both of hers to help her walk. She winced as her bruised body complained, but as soon as the aft hatch was down and John pulled her along, Sam relaxed knowing it wouldn't be long before she got to hear more complaining about her health from Dr Keller, and also that John would likely be lying in the bed next to hers complaining just as, if not louder.

John shut the aft hatch remotely and moving to the forward section, set her down in the passenger side seat. Sam groaned as she raised her foot off the ground and lay back trying to keep from showing too much pain.

The jumper lifted off without a problem, and the cloak quickly engaged shielding them from any sort of reprisal from the Darts. John breathed a sigh of relief, they were safe finally. His shoulder may be burning in agony, and Sam still looked a little shocky, but Atlantis wasn't far off now.

John punched in the symbols for Atlantis into the DHD of the jumper, and after waiting for confirmation, barked into the radio. _"Atlantis, this is Colonel Sheppard, please come in."_

He waited a moment, and looked to Sam who was quietly breathing, almost meditating as she leaned back in the chair. It wasn't too long till they heard Major Lorne's worried voice. _"Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne here, Are you alright? Is Colonel Carter with you?"_

Sam clicked her radio, feeling the need to show she was alright. _"Yes Major, I'm right here. I assume the outpost's crew made it through safely?"_

"_Partially ma-am. Only Warrant Officer Simmons made it through. She reported the Wraith attacked both the outpost and the village."_

John pushed the jumper ahead, well clear of the tree line, but still low enough to see everything below him. _"And the others?"_

Lorne's voice was noticeably dejected. _"Simmons says they were right behind her, there were Darts attacking them at the time so I've held off on sending reinforcements till we got in contact with you."_

Both John and Sam winced, it was likely the outposts crew had been captured by the darts, and there was a 1 in 4 chance the dart John had shot down was the one with them in it. It was a sobering thought. Sam pushed it aside and clicked her radio. _"Good call Major… we're nearing the gate, be ready to drop the shield on our command."_

John tapped a control and the sensors came up. He growled at what he saw. _"Those Darts aren't leaving… they're not even chasing after the villagers. Looks like they're just guarding the gate."_

Sam breathed out slowly, and looked at the information scrolling past the HUD. _"Looks like a defensive position… do you think they know we've got a Jumper?"_

John clicked his tongue, the Gate was almost in visual range. _"Maybe… All they'd have to do is blind fire over the gate and we'd never make it through."_

Sam cursed softly, then cursed out loud as she saw the gate now, on its side and facing upwards. _"Aw Crap…" _she clicked her radio_ "Major?"_

John was confused, what was the big problem? _"Yes Colonel, we're ready to drop the shield."_ John pushed the Jumper away, with the gate in such a position it, was highly unlikely they'd be able to get through without being spotted even with the cloak.

"_I've never seen a gate like that… Are we boned?" _John deadpanned it, figuring Sam would get the Bender reference.

Sam nodded and rubbed her forehead, attempting to will her headache away. Without even thinking about it, she channeled her inner Leela as she replied _"Yeah we're boned."_

They were trapped as long as those Darts were around. Lorne's voice became hesitant. _"Is something wrong?"_

John muttered his reply. _"Yeah you could say that, the Darts are in position to defend the gate and there's no way we can get through just yet."_

Sam continued seamlessly. _"Apart from that… the Gate's on its back. There's no way you can send us any reinforcements without them falling back into the event horizon."_

"_That's… bad I'm assuming?"_ Behind Lorne's voice, others arguing and the sounds of orders being barked were clear.

Rodney piped in with his traditional _'we're doomed'_ tone. _"Oh it'll atomize you. How do you feel about having all your cells instantly rip apart and turn into vapor spread across the wormhole?"_

John winced, looked to Sam who unfortunately gave him a nod. _"Yeah… he's right. It's not pleasant to say the least."_ She sighed heavily and looked to John even as she held the transmit button on the radio. _"Looks like we're stuck here for awhile."_

Lorne's sigh was heard as well, and his voice was slightly worried. _"What about a Jumper? We can fly right through."_

John kept his voice stable. _"No dice Major, 3 darts are surrounding the gate just waiting for something to shoot. No we're boned alright. Well and good."_

Lorne growled softly _"We'll dial the planet nearest the Daedalus then as soon as we're done here. They're about 2 days away though… Any chance you can take those Darts out?"_

John considered it, the Jumper had 12 drones in the ammo hold, but it was more likely they'd get swarmed. Even if he could get a good lock on three moving targets, it was more likely they'd take fire first. _"Wouldn't count on it. They're ready for a fight and I don't really feel like sticking around."_

Sam moaned softly, and held her head where the bandage was coated with dried blood. Somehow Dr Keller could tell from the sound over the radio that they were hurt and got on the radio. _"Hello? Colonel? Are you there? Hello!"_

Both John and Sam looked at each other, the Jumper was just hovering now and neither really wanted to talk to Dr Keller if they weren't going to get treated right argued with their hands and nods and shakes of their heads as to who would talk to her. Neither enjoyed being doted on by overly cautious doctors.

"_Who's she talking to?"_

"_You're asking me? You're in charge!"_

"_Me? You're the one flying this thing!"_

Dr Keller's voice got a little more worried than it's already nearly panic. _"Hello? Colonel!?" _Her voice softened, as she spoke to someone at the side._ "Is this thing working? Can they hear me?"_

Chuck's voice told her in a reassuring tone that yes, they could hear her. John finally decided to bite the bullet as Sam was obviously not feeling too great. _"We're here Doc. A little banged up but we're okay."_

Unbelieving, Dr Keller spoke quickly. _"'Banged up?' List your injuries! Since we can't get to you you'll have to treat yourselves!"_

John looked to Sam, who nodded reluctantly. _"Well… Sam's ankle is twisted, and she's got a nasty looking boo-boo on her head."_ Sam snorted at his wording, finding the situation already ridiculous as John continued. _"… I'm feeling like a piñata but a little better off."_

Sam rolled her eyes and spoke inot the radio reluctantly. _"I'm alright Doctor… I'm guessing a concussion and yeah, my ankle's pretty bad. Don't let Colonel Sheppard fool you though, he's just walking bruise right now, and I had to pop his shoulder back in."_

John growled softly, despite the pain, he didn't want his friends to worry about him. Dr Keller's worried voice came in succinctly._ "Sam, make sure his shoulder isn't punching any arteries and ice it down…Sheppard, Keep Sam off her feet, and use a compression bandage if it's swollen."_

Sam looked to John and returned the eyeroll he gave her. This wasn't the first time they'd been injured and they knew the score. She watched as John clicked the radio. _"Copy that Doc. It's nothing serious on my end. Frankly I'm a little more concerned that she shot me."_

The look Sam shot John was hard to resist laughing at, an odd mix of rage, incredulousness, and righteous indignance. _"What!? John!"_

Over the radio, it sounded like a cacophony of different accusations, conversations, and laughter. John could clearly make our Ronon laughing, Lorne scratching his head, and Chuck muttering _'That's ironic'_.

Lorne's voice was just ever so slightly confused. _"Uhh… come again Sir?"_

John was feeling like crap, and humor usually got him through it easier so he winked to Sam sitting next to him as he replied. _"You heard me Major. She shot me four times but a Wraith got in the way each time."_

Sam got where he was going now, and despite feeling a little pissed that he didn't bother to tell her he was trying to lighten the situation, she accepted it as just another sign of the camaraderie John had his his men. Major Lorne's confused tone _was_ quite funny. _"Uh.. Right Sir... Sure you didn't take a hit to the head there sir?"_

John snorted, and chuckled softly. _"More than one Major, But we should be fine for now."_

"_Yes Sir…"_

John looked at Sam from the corner of his eyes. She didn't look too happy. _"Yes Colonel?"_

Sam kept the indignantly angry face as she stared at him with a death glare. _"Jooohn…"_

John smirked and used a sarcastic tone. _"Well she did ask if I was ok… I just gave her the facts."_

Sam couldn't help it anymore and the sides of her lips crept up, so in her sweetest tone possible she whispered. _"Keep it up and I __**will**__ shoot you again… and there won't be a Wraith in the way this time."_

John snorted in mirth, and both he and Sam cracked up at the ludicrousness. John was about to say something else sarcastic when a warning suddenly flashed on the HUD, John quickly changed views and the scanner reported a hyperspace window Sam drew in a sharp breath, clenched her fists and then sighed. _"Is that what I think that is?"_

John cursed as he double checked the readings. _"Dammit… should have seen this coming… Atlantis?" _He sighed in resignation _"A Wraith Hive just jumped into orbit above the planet. They're launching Darts and Transports…This planet is getting culled."_

Sam winced and cursed softly. But as she looked at the scanner readings, something felt off. _"John… I know I've only read mission reports… but does this seem right to you?"_

John looked at the screen even as Major Lorne replied that he'd get the information to the Daedalus. _"Copy that Colonel, We'll check back with you in 30 minutes to apprise you of Daedalus's position. Lorne out."_

The Stargate deactivated, and the three darts orbiting it became a little more relaxed and began to patrol the area. John meanwhile studying the vectors of the incoming darts and transports from the hive and yes, something did feel off. _"That is odd… Usually the transports land near the villages and the Darts scour the area around for escapees. This is backwards, the Darts are heading to the Villages and the transports are heading to thicker forest regions."_

Sam tried to think, she'd seen these tactics before but with her head spinning like a dreidel, it was hard to properly compose it. Finally after watching it for a minute it dawned on her. _"John… that's not an invasion… they're looking for something."_

It was true John realized, and even more he knew what they were looking for. _"It's us… they're looking for us."_

_------------------------------------------_


	4. Crossing The Eye

**Chapter 4 – Crossing the Eye**

-------------------------------

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__"Once you're done, take your shirt off."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Geez, can't we start with a bike ride or maybe a picnic?"_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter:**__ "Down boy, Dinner's all you get tonight. Besides, I'm scared if I play rough candy'll start falling outta yer ass."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Hrm… well if you put it THAT way…"_

---------------------------------

**A/N:**_ Since the action is relatively slow for the next few chapters, humor is quite high. _

----------------------------------

Both Sam and John were sobered by the thought. How the Wraith were able to locate them was still a mystery, but it didn't matter. There were thousands of people on this planet and now, because the Atlantis Expedition had decided to form a friendship with them, the Wraith had come.

The harsh reality only lasted a moment though, as Sam suddenly winced and stifled a groan. John sighed and turned the Jumper up to leave orbit and get somewhere safe. _"Alright… I'm gonna take us into orbit so it's less likely those Darts'll find us. Just hang on a minute Sam, we'll patch ya up once we're clear."_

Sam nodded, not saying a word as she tried to calm her breathing, eyes closed in concentration.

The jumper moved up through the atmosphere, taking careful care not to get too close to any of the incoming wraith ships. It was disconcerting to think about how many people were going to get captured, but he couldn't think about that now.

It wasn't long before they broke atmosphere, and entered the cold emptiness of high orbit. Sam pushed through the pain and spoke softly. _"Stay near the hive… we should keep tabs on them."_

John agreed, he didn't want to abandon these people to such a horrible fate. He left the jumper in a good orbiting position in synchronous orbit with the Hive before turning to Sam. _"Alright… let's take a look what they stocked in the first aid kit."_

Sam was just about to get up when John moved in and picked her up without hesitation. If her foot wasn't still throbbing in pain, she would have complained. _"Hey!"_ She snickered at John's rolling of his eyes and scoff as he carried her in his arms to the aft section. _"I could get used to this."_

_---------------------------_

Lorne called a meeting of what remained of the command staff, and AR-3, Atlantis's heavy recon team. They sat around the table in the conference room going over options for the current crisis. _"Alright people. The situation is pretty simple. Colonel's Carter and Sheppard are trapped on that planet as long as the Wraith are there." _He pointed on the topographical map where the Gate, Outpost, and Village were._ "The gate is under Wraith control and due to it lying on its back, we can't send any ground reinforcements. There's a lot of people on that planet and I'm assuming it'll take the Wraith awhile to cull it." _The screen switched to a 3d view of the Daedalus._ "The Daedalus has been contacted and are on their way." _He turned to the astronomical map behind him and circled 2 planets _"Here's the planet they're on, and this is the nearest planet with a gate. We're going to set up a temporary outpost on that base and have Daedalus pick us up on their way in."_ He turned back to the group. _"It's likely there will be civilian casualties, we've also lost most of our outpost crew. We're assuming they've been captured and are onboard the hive in orbit of the planet."_

Dr Keller spoke up, feeling just a bit more worried than the others. _"I'm going to need some heavy medical equipment that the Daedalus doesn't have if we're going to be treating feeding victims. Are we going to bring the injured back to Atlantis?"_

Lorne shook his head. _"I'd rather not, since the Wraith are involved we're gonna avoid any chance of them finding out our coordinates."_

To the side, McKay scoffed. _"Todd knows where we are. You're trusting him not to tell any of the other Wraith where we are?"_

Lorne shrugged. _"It's not a matter of trust, it's the fact we're not under attack right now."_

McKay couldn't really argue with that, so he simply grumbled and receded back into his chair. Major Teldy spoke up next. _"Is there any way we can take those Darts out to let jumper reinforcements through?"_

Lorne shook his head and pointed to McKay. _"We thought of that, but Dr McKay can explain the problems."_

McKay, who had just decided to take a bite out of a protein bar, swallowed quickly and cleared his throat before answering _"Yes… well if we could get proper sensor data on the other side we might be able to fire drones or missiles to take them out, but with a Hive there, it's more than likely they've beefed up their defenses around the gate. Even if we did have the sensor data there's just too many of them to target. I've got Zelenka working on it while we do more important things, but I doubt he'll figure something out we haven't thought of and discarded already."_

Lorne nodded, rolled his eyes at the way Rodney referred to Zelenka, and sighed as he began the next part. _"So it's back to square one, Daedalus." _He looked to Major Teldy. _"Major…You and I are the highest ranked officers on the base now, One of us has to stay behind and look after Atlantis."_

Major Teldy growled softly under her breath. She didn't like leaving Lorne behind when he was obviously intent on going, but she didn't want to abandon her team either. _"How you wanna decide?"_

Lorne shrugged. _"Rock paper scissors?"_

Just about every jaw in the room dropped in shock.

------------------------------------

"_Alright…. That should take care of that… it's not as bad as it looked."_

John had just finished cleaning and applying a new field dressing to Sam's forehead cut. It was actually a lot cleaner of a cut than it looked and the scar would hardly be noticeable. They were in the back of the Jumper and the first aid kit had been strewn about as John tended to Sam's injuries.

Neither really was looking forward to spending the next 2 days in the small now smelly jumper. To land back on the planet would be foolhardy, so sticking around in orbit until either the Hive left, or Daedalus arrived was the only option. Neither said it, but they were both silently glad that the person they had to spend 2 straight days with in such an enclosed environment was relatively sane. John would have probably sealed himself in the front if McKay was here, and perhaps not so ironically so would Sam.

Sam groaned softly in pain as she let him press the dressing down. She took over and held it to her headas she sat on the bench_. "Yeah, well I guess it feels a lot worse than it looks. What kind of painkillers you find in there?"_

John checked in the field kit, and pulled out a few bottles _"Uhh… lets see… __acetaminophen__… ibuprofen… Amitriptyline?" _He furrowed his brow. _"Isn't that a sleeping pill?"_

Sam was in too much pain to care. In a deadpan tone she muttered._ "Keep… Looking… The good stuff's probably at the bottom."_

John huffed a laugh and then dug deeper._ "Right, let's see…nope… nope… ahh here we go, Oxycodone." _ He took a pair of pills out and handed them to her. _"Drugs are bad M'kay?"_

Sam opened her canteen and downed the pills quickly. She smiled back at him and rolled her eyes. _"Are you kidding? Back in the mining facility Keller only had Tylenol."_

John winced in sympathy. _"Ow."_

Sam smiled and nodded, her tone was obviously irritated though. _"Yeah." _John grunted, it wasn't often he saw Sam get frustrated like this. But hearing her next words he felt a bit assuaged that she was okay. _"You okay John? I'm serious. Tell me how you're holding up."_

John shrugged, and winced from the pain in his shoulder. _"It hurts, but nothing that can't wait. Let's see that ankle."_

Sam cringed back, her foot dangling in the air like a ballerina as the bench supported it. She knew what was coming and despite knowing it was for the best, Sam still didn't like it. She used her most persuasive and sweet voice with a touch of seduction. _"Ugh… I don't suppose there's anyway I could convince you not to do what you're about to do?"_

John smiled deviously, and sitting on the bench next to her, put her foot down on his lap carefully. His smirk told her all she needed to know. _"Not unless you plan on knocking me out. Which by the way I wouldn't recommend seeing as I'm the one who can fly this thing."_

Sam snickered, and bit her lip as he began to undo her boot. _"Almost makes me wish I took the gene therapy."_

John gently undid the laces, careful not to move her foot around too much. He furrowed his brow and looked to her. _"You mind if I ask why you haven't taken it?"_

Sam breathed a heavy sigh as the boot began to flop open, and winced slightly at the shooting pain in her foot. _"Umm… well… I guess the easy answer is I'm not too comfortable playing around with my DNA..." _John stopped a moment and gave her a deep look, she smiled back. _"…even if it means I get to fly this thing."_

John held still for a moment, then nodded. _"Nah I get that… you're happy with who you are."_

Sam nodded softly, agreeing with his assessment. _"You could put it that way." _

He took a deep breath in, then looked to her. _"Alright, ready?"_

Sam bit her lower lip, cringed a bit and nodded. _"Yeah…" _She muttered softly "_God I hate this part."_

John gently pulled the boot off, Sam trembled as she bore the pain of her savaged ankle. Her cry of anguish was enough that John had to look away. He finished removing it and put his hand on her shin gently stroking it to sooth her. _"Shh… alright the worst is over… let's take a look at this." _Sam gripped onto the edge of the bench and breathed in deeply as he took her white sock off. The ankle underneath was tender looking and swollen.

John reached over to the first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of some gel. _"Alright… I'm gonna give it a little rub to get it moving again and use a compression bandage to keep it tight. Ice gel'll keep the swelling down and you should be able to hobble about on your own Gimpy."_

Sam snorted, and let a deep breath out as she prepared herself. _"Gimpy? I'll have to remember that on your next review."_

John raised his eyebrows in mock horror and chuckled. _"Uhh did I say Gimpy? I meant Colonel…" _John gave her a sly grin._ "Alright…"_ His grin changed to a slight wince. _"Well…like you told me… this is gonna hurt."_

Sam didn't have a chance to reply before his hands began to gently massage the injured ankle. She moaned softly as she tried to contain the pain, but obviously it was a bad sprain and despite starting to feel a bit better from his kneading, it still hurt. _"Urgh… god… mrmm…!"_

John felt bad over causing her so much pain, and decided to try and distract her. _"So hey… uhh… I didn't know we had a pedicurist on base."_

Sam stifled her snort and gave John a bewildered look even as she grimaced in pain. _"What?!"_

John continued to massage her foot, which slowly stopped trembling and actually began to enjoy his touch. He motioned with his head towards it, causing Sam to instantly blush and become almost giddy. _"Oh god… umm… no… no… I um… I do it myself."_

John nodded and mused, Sam was hard pressed not to burst out laughing at his next sentence. _"Ah… Impressive. If this intergalactic commander thing doesn't pan out, you always have that to fall back on."_

Sam snickered, and realized what he was doing. Needless to say the pain in her foot was now the last thing on her mind. How the hell did John know the difference between a normal foot and a pedicured one? _"So all those years of university were useless? I'm only finding out now that I have a hidden talent?"_

John chuckled as well, and began to knead her muscles a little harder, forcing the swollen muscles to contract and settle. _"Better late then never, You could open a business!"_

Sam snorted, made a sly grin and giggled. _"Maybe I should start it on the base. 'Sam's Pedicures'. I'd make a killing here don't you think?"_

John scoffed loudly and laughed. _"Are you kidding? Pegasus is __**prime**__ real estate! No competition, total monopoly, I doubt most people here even know what a pedi is, __**and**__ the Stargates give you all the customers you could ever want."_

They laughed together as John continued to rub her ankle. She suddenly felt a lot better, and more than just physically. He always managed to raise her spirits if she was feeling blue. They stayed silent and just enjoyed the ridiculous easy nature of the moment, Sam moaning softly as John's hands rubbed her injured foot and soothed her nerves.

Almost instinctively, Sam spoke softly _"You should have been a Doctor… I totally see the kids loving you." _It was true, she'd gotten to know him a as a friend in the past few months, and his face to face personality painted a much different picture from the near psychopath his CSV alluded to. Of course had he become a doctor, his incessant flirtatious behavior would no doubt get him into a lot of trouble with the mothers of said kids.

John smirked, but he seemed a little reticent to speak about it_ "Yeah well… the road not taken."_

Sam felt bad now, obviously she'd struck a nerve, and she thought she knew what it was _'Damn… How could I forget his dad just passed away? Stupid Sam, Stupid Sam…' _She leaned in a little closer, the oxycodone and his now pleasurable touch on her foot emboldening her. _"Hey… listen… I'm sorry I haven't really had the chance to give you my proper condolences…"_

John smiled, but Sam could see he was forcing it. _"It's alright Sam… I know you've had a lot on your plate recently."_

Sam sighed. _"Yeah… but I know what it's like…"_John shook his head politely, obviously repressing. _"What I'm trying to say is… If you ever wanna talk…"_

John looked up at her, and she could see the pain behind his deep eyes, She suddenly felt like trying to take care of him. But he didn't want it, and he gave her a slightly more sincere smile. _"It's okay Sam… I'm fine… really. I got a lot done when I was back on Earth." _His facial features softened, _"Thanks though… I mean it."_

Sam nodded and reaching out, gave his shoulder a gentle pat of support. He winced in pain and Sam cringed suddenly remembering. _"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"_

John groaned slightly, holding in the pain, but obviously it had hurt like hell. His voice was almost comically hoarse. _"Oh yeah…. I'm fine."_ He laced it with sarcasm and stopped rubbing her foot. He reached for the bottle he'd pulled out and squirted a gob into his hand. _"Alright… this is gonna be cold."_

Sam nodded and took a deep breath. As his fingers caressed her foot, the gel spread along her skin, forcing a sharp gasp from her lips. _"Oh damn…! you weren't kidding about cold."_

John snorted in amusement. _"Trust me, I twisted my ankle enough times to know what works. Not much left now."_

Sam was almost panting now, as strange as it felt, the heat from his massage inside her foot was oddly complemented by the cold of the gel. She forced a smile just to hide how much she was enjoying it. _"Once we're done… I'll take a look at your shoulder."_

John made a shrugging motion. _"I should be okay… just as long as I don't strain it."_

Sam began to move her foot back and forth, it still ached, but it certainly wasn't making her scream in agony anymore. _"John…?"_

John let go of her foot, now reasonably sure she was okay and began to wrap the compression bandage around her foot. _"Hmm?"_

Sam knew John was tough, he'd certainly endured just as much if not more then her in his 4+ years in Pegasus compared to her 10 years in the Milky Way. But she also knew he was probably bleeding internally and needed the same treatment she'd just gotten. Not including the 4 bullets in his blood soaked vest that probably turned his chest into a massive purple bruise. She decided to return a bit of the forwardness he'd given he so far. _"Once you're done, take your shirt off."_

John raised both his eyebrows in mock surprise. _"Geez, can't we start with a bike ride or maybe a picnic?"_

Sam muffled her laugh with her hand and shook her head. At least John wasn't feeling so bad that he couldn't joke around. _"Down boy, Dinner's all you get tonight. Besides, I'm scared if I play rough candy'll start falling outta yer ass."_

John cringed back, and finished wrapping her foot in the compression bandage. _"Hrm… well if you put it THAT way…"_ He gave her foot a gentle squeeze and moved it around a bit. _"That feel okay?"_

Sam nodded, _"Yeah, I think I might be able to walk now."_

Without hesitation, John lifted her foot up and gave it a quick and exaggerated peck of his lips to the bare part of her foot above her toes. _"Mwuah! Little kiss for good measure…"_

Sam couldn't help it. It was the cutest thing she'd _ever_ seen the man do and it was so sweet that he didn't even hesitate. _"Eww… John!" _ This was getting almost ludicrous. Sam understood he wanted to distract her from the obvious gloomy atmosphere, but what he just did was ridiculous… and quite hilarious.

He laughed and set her foot back down towards the floor. John gave her a sarcastically indignant look. _"What?"_

Sam was bewildered, but the laughter was enough to make her forget about all the bad things that had just happened. _"You're something else John."_

John shrugged, and began to undo his shook her head seeing how nonchalant he was being. She was torn between being impressed and thinking he was a doofus. _'God… how can he flirt so damn well? Must be the hair.'_ Sam pushed it out of her mind and spun around to try and stand. John instantly moved in beside her and gave her a hand to get up.

She wrapped an arm around his neck and used him to lift herself up. Sam daintily set her foot down on the floor and slowly put more weight on it.

John slowly let her go so she could balance on her own. _"You good?"_

Sam nodded, and finally balanced out, she wouldn't be able to walk straight for a few days, but limping was better than being carried around by John Sheppard… well… not really but she didn't want to have a repeat of John carrying her with a broken leg to her quarters when Keller told him to relieve her for the day.

John patted her on the shoulder, then started peeling away the blood soaked vest and shirt. He groaned slightly at the movements and stretched his neck. _"Damn, I think you're right, candy just might come out if I get hit again."_

Sam shook her head with a smile. _"You're impossible."_

_--------------------------------------_

Major Evan Lorne opened the firing chamber of the P90 and cleared the barrel. The empty clip on top was perfectly aligned and the gun was nicely oiled. He handed the weapon off to the technician who loaded the empty weapon into the crate destined to go through the gate.

Around him, his team of marines and AR-3 were preparing their own weapons. Major Teldy had lost the game of Rock Paper Scissors and was standing at the side trying her best not to pout. Her team, Captain Alicia Vega, Sergeant 'Dusty' Mehra, and Dr Alison Porter were a little disappointed, but more than willing to follow Lorne's orders.

Ronon and Teyla stood off to the side, Ronon checking his blaster and chatting with Teyla who sat with her hands on her belly. Lorne motioned for Vega to take over the preparations and walked over to Ronon and Teyla. _"Hey, everything alright?"_

Ronon growled in positive, and checked the sights on his blaster as he loaded the battery. _"Yeah, just antsy."_

Teyla made a strange sound and winced. _"He's not the only one unfortunately. My child seems to have a future in martial arts as he refuses to stop kicking."_

Lorne snorted once as he chuckled, and shook his head in disbelief. _"Feisty little guy."_

Ronon finished checking the sights on his weapon and with some razzle dazzle, holstered it onto his belt clip _"Guess he takes after his mother."_

Lorne nodded in agreement. _"He'll be a real trooper then, I'll be glad to teach him how to paint once he can hold a brush."_

Kneeling next to Teyla, Ronon deadpanned. _"I'll teach him to use that brush to kill a Wraith."_

Teyla rolled her eyes, and snickered sarcastically. _"I have no doubt many of you will have plenty of things to teach my child." _Truth be told, she was more than pleased with being here on Atlantis while having her child. With her people still missing, including the Kanaan the father… well the support of her friends and especially that of Major Lorne were a gift from some higher power. _"I do wonder how what will become of him when he becomes of age."_

Lorne smiled, knelt next to her, and sighed in a very warm manner. _"Well if he grows up around here, I don't have a doubt he'll become a great man."_

Teyla's smile was a wonderful thing, and even as Captain Alicia Vega checked her XM-8 Assault Rifle, she couldn't help but smile in return as she watched. Beside her, Sgt. Dusty poked her in the ribs to get her attention. _"Whatsa matter Cap? You look like you wanna little rug rat of yer own."_

Alicia rolled her eyes and attached the trigger lock to her rifle. _"As if.' _She patted her shiny new rifle on the side. _"__**This**__ is my baby. I went through hell to get this."_ Her smile matched that of Teyla's, something that amused Dusty.

"_You've got issues Cap… serious issues." _Dusty smiled and snickered. _"But that's why we love ya."_

To the side, Dr Alison Porter rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief as she daintily held her P90. _"Freaks, I don't even know what I'm doing here…"_

Dusty laughed and gave Porter a friendly shove. _"That makes two of us."_

Porter made a frustrated sound with her throat, then sighed dejectedly _"I'm gonna have to prescribe myself some Diovan if I want to live past my 30s…"_

Alicia snickered, recalled her own father taking the drug for years, and rubbed Alison's shoulder. _"Aw don't worry so much… we'll take care'a ya.'_

Alison huffed and blew a lock of her black hair from her face, her tone comically deflated. _"Yeah… That's what I'm afraid of."_

_------------------------------------------------ _

"_Oooowwww."_

John's exaggerated groan of pain as Sam wrapped the compression bandage around his inflamed shoulder was long, emphatic, and obviously sarcastic.

"_Baby."_ Sam smiled as she said it and giggled.

They both laughed, and John shook his head idly. Truth be told he had _really_ enjoyed having Sam rub his shoulder in much the same way he'd done for her foot. But his chest still ached and as he held the ice pack to the injury, he absentmindedly wondered what it'd be like to have her rub that part of him. _'Focus John…Focus… can that BE a worse idea?"_.

As if she could read his mind, she leaned back and sighed as she pointed to his chest. _"Alright, take it off."_

John raised both his eyebrows in mock horror, but seeing her slightly less than serious look, decided to let her imagination figure out his thoughts from his sly smile. He sat down, rolled his shoulder around a bit, then began to peel away his t-shirt. _"Pass me that towel thingy, this wraith blood is sticky."_

Sam tossed him the towel and he wiped away the bluish muck with a certain air of distaste. Once he had the shirt completely off Sam couldn't help but admire how fit the man was.

John noticed her eyes and the edges of her lips creep up and snickered. _"Like what you see?"_

Sam shrugged, and pointed at his chest. _"Admiring my aim."_

John looked to his chest, and cringed at how bad the injury was. Four dark bruises were surrounded by overlapping large circles of bruised skin. He touched the icepack to it gingerly and groaned. _"Ohh Damn… remind me not to piss you off again."_

Sam groaned at his joke, and pouted a bit. _"You know I didn't really mean to hit you…"_

John waved his hand dismissing it. _"I know I know… I'm just teasin'… we're alive, that's what counts."_ He motioned beside her in the cargo netting of the jumper._"Pass me that shirt would ya? Kinda chilly."_

Sam tossed him the shift and sighed explosively. _"So whaddya wanna do now? Got any ideas?"_

John shrugged and began to button up the shirt. _"I'unno… feel like playing 20 questions?"_

_------------------------------------------------_


	5. Chilled Events

_**Chapter 5**__ – Chilled Events_

_--------------------------_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "You like bikes? Hmm… guess that explains that adorable leather jacket I see you wearing every now and again."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter**__: "Oh god… I guess it doesn't matter that that jacket is SGC issued?"_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Ah ah ah… I know for a fact that you're the one who ordered these new uniforms. Don't worry, I got a thing for leather as well."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__*Snicker* "Not a word John."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: ***__Laughs*_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter**__: "Not a damn word…"_

_----------------------------_

_A/N: Reply to "Review": I really have no good answer for why I use Italics. Makes it prettier? Easier to distinguish dialogue? Sorry if it's… annoying, but it's just a habit of mine (bad or not it's still there). Thanks for reading and reviewing! Glad you're enjoying the story! :D_

_Also this is a pretty big chapter (7K words) Just turned out that way but it's a healthy mix of comedy, drama, and a bit of action. _

_Oh uh… the pineapple reference is from Spoils of War – Commentary, I forget which producer/director it was but they mentioned that the "Apricot Surprise" MRE that Rodney gets from Lorne was originally Pineapple, but had to be changed because of the character's allergy. Yet for some reason, all my research shows that Pineapple is not a citrus fruit… Odd… but still funny and worthy of mention._

_---------------------------- _

Marine Private 1st class Edward Stevens was _not_ enjoying his new assignment.

Sure, he'd been ecstatic to go with Major Lorne's team a few weeks ago to _P8X-438 _on a training mission to some Ancient ruins_, _and even more so when the whole festival began.

What he wasn't ecstatic over was Lorne's screams of harsh discipline along with his steel toed boot between his secondary cheeks when he found Stevens drunk and soon-to-be hung-over, naked, buried in blankets with two rather attractive if a little plump village girls, and obviously exhausted the morning after said festival from a rather distinctive encounter.

Granted, he hadn't _planned_ on such a thing happening. But in the heat of the moment the Elder's daughter and very open minded friend weren't going to take no for an answer despite all logic. Stevens was a fit man as well, having done bodybuilding for more of his life and hence a boiling pot of testosterone as it were. His primary excuse was that he didn't realize how strong the alcohol and herbal smokables the natives used were.

They hadn't shipped him off back to Earth thankfully, but he'd been forced to fill out a huge stack of paperwork to void any attempt on Stevens' part to claim benefits or spousal union with those fair ladies. Stevens had been incredibly shocked that the IOA had SOP for this sort of thing, but the vaunted laughter and lewd looks he got from his comrades and commanding officers told Stevens it wasn't a good thing.

And it seemed that just to add insult to injury, Major Lorne had, with Colonel Sheppard's blessing, tasked him with 2 months in the mess hall as a general helper.

The mess hall staff was more than willing to help with the cruel and unusual punishment, and decided to use the now slightly wiser Private as a personal waiter for their more demanding clientele.

The most important of said clientele was now berating him mercilessly. _"Did you understand what I said? Because obviously you have an issue with following clear and simple rules that are plainly stated to you. I am MORTALLY allergic to citrus. MOR-TAL-LY. And citrus does not just mean Lemon, or Orange, or any mutant form of said fruit in this or any other galaxy, it means CITRUS! As in 'every type of polycellular structure that contains CITRUS.' So no, I cannot eat this ham sandwich, as your brutish 'guns and tits' mind obviously did not realize that Pineapple has CITRUS in it! Now bring me another and try not to attempted murder me!"_

To the side, Sgt Chuck Campbell was on his headset talking to Sgt Amelia Banks who sat on the other side of the exchange, both struggling not to laugh at the Private's situation. _"Pineapple has citrus?"_

"_You're askin' me?!… Check Wikipedia!"_

"_I just did! It said nothing!"_

"_Weird… the wiki is usually pretty accurate."_

The poor Private had stood and taken the whole beratement before stomping off angrily muttering to himself that he'd never have sex again.

A few moments passed where McKay turned to the technicians and other personnel in the control room looking for anyone else he could rip into, but seeing only slight bemused smiles, and hard working staff, returned to his own work.

About a minute of silence later, Dr Radek Zelenka entered from the Jumper Bay. He didn't look too pleased and his normally messy hair resembled an irate tribble.

Rodney gave him one look and groaned dejectedly. _"Oh don't even bother Radek; I already know it won't work."_

Zelenka fumbled about with his glasses for a moment as he stood before Rodney, and shrugged. _"Yes well… while the jumper has sufficient space and the capability for modular additions…"_

Rodney waved his hand dismissing him. _"Yes yes yes… the tether's and equipment we'd need are too big to fit through the gate. I already figured that out."_

Radek grunted in annoyance. _"Yes, but there is space in…"_

Rodney shook his head and wagged his finger at Radek like a school child. _"Nope, thought of that too, you'd have to turn the Jumper around to fire and it'd most likely tear the weapons ports out ripping out all the conduit inside."_

Chuck and Amelia were in stitches now, they'd seen this sort of argument many times but the way Rodney seemed to already know what Zelenka would have thought about was classic.

Radek's frustration grew, and he began to wave his hands front of his body to try and emphasize his point, but before he could even speak Rodney pointed right at him. _"No! Nope not gonna work. I know you're gonna say auto-locking drones or missiles, but we don't have the sensor data! And even if we did we don't know if the mental interface will go across the event horizon and we don't have any missiles we can fire in here!"_

Radek growled angrily this time, and pointed back at Rodney. _"What about the aft…"_

Again, Rodney interrupted, this time looking a bit more puzzled. _"Nope, not enough space. Dropping the aft hatch while moving is ridiculous too, by the time we implemented the safety features needed and installed the tethers, Daedalus will be there."_

Now Radek was fuming, his face had turned a bright red and his fists were clenched, He raised his hands to begin screeching when Rodney got up, and started walking away. _"Hey do me a favor and finish those figures? We'll never have to actually use them but I think you could use the practice."_

Chuck cracked and doubled over to muffle his laugh, thankfully no one but Amelia noticed and her chastising voice was all he could hear in his headset. _"Chuck! Be quiet! Zelenka's gonna blow a fuse!"_

Proving her point, Zelenka was catatonically silenced as Rodney walked away, His hands trembled in rage, his glasses shifted from the vibrations of his pent up ire. His screaming as he left the control room was gut wrenchingly hilarious. "_Aby man v__ů__le p__ř__ivést do hrobu n__ě__koho mne! Pro__č__č__init já odro__č__it a__ž__ k dovolit jemu a__ž__ k __ř__íci tezaury majetek? MÁ duch is zkracený kv__ů__li jemu! JÁ can't práce s tezaury herci ješt__ě__!"_

Chuck couldn't hold it in any longer; if he repressed anymore laughs he'd likely crack a rib. With a wave to Amelia to take over, he walked over to the conference room and began to howl with glee. Amelia tittered on the edge too, but was more concerned with beginning the translation of what Radek had screamed and now pumped the taped rant into her computer.

Despite the crisis on the planet with Carter and Sheppard, it was still a fun day to be in Atlantis.

------------------------------------------------

"_Is it a Ferris wheel?"_

John growled in annoyance. It was the third time she'd guessed it and was obviously toying with him. _"No! Stop asking that!"_

Sam laughed, still pleased that she'd found one of his Achilles heels. _"Ok ok… let's see… it's a thing. It's big, it moves... it's fun… it can carry people… does it run on gas?"_

John shrugged indecisively; it was an easy thing he'd chosen but something he enjoyed. _"Most of the time."_

Sam made a knowing smile, but kept her calm. _"Ok… how many people does it carry?"_

Here was the cincher, John smiled wide and spoke slyly._ "1 or 2 normally… but I've seen 6 people on one."_

Sam's eyes grew wide as she realized he was trying to trick her, and failing spectacularly. _"Oh I know! It's a motorcycle! Or a Vespa!"_

John grumbled, he wasn't expecting her to get it so _fast_. _"Grr… yeah. How'd you guess it on the first try? Figured you'd say Car or Truck or something."_

Sam chuckled, and shrugged. _"Are you kidding? I love motorcycles."_

It had been a boring hour since they'd patched themselves up. They'd moved to the front of the jumper and had gone back and forth playing 20 questions to pass the time. So far neither had been stumped, but it was obvious that Sam had the major advantage when it came to science. John had only been able to hard press her with more esoteric things such as Rodney's pen.

John now opened his eyes in surprise. _"You like bikes? Hmm… guess that explains that adorable leather jacket I see you wearing every now and again."_

Sam snorted in laughter, and felt the now familiar tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. John had been doing that a lot recently and it felt great to be the target of his flirtations, playful or not. _"Oh god… I guess it doesn't matter that that jacket is SGC issued?"_

John chuckled and shook his head. _"Ah ah ah… I know for a fact that you're the one who ordered these new uniforms. Don't worry; I got a thing for leather as well."_

Sam laughed openly, and shook her head idly in giddy embarrassment as John raised his hand and showed off his leather armband. She muffled her laugh with her hand and sighed amidst the cackles._ "Not a word John." _John laughed as he stretched his arms in a yawn. _"Not a damned word…"_

They finished their little laugh and Sam leaned back on the chair. Exhaustion was an understatement. John's voice sounded comically deflated._ "Play again?"_

Sam shook her head emphatically. _"No… no more… I'm tired, I'm sore… I'm hungry… I just wanna curl up in bed with a tub of Hagen-Daz and pass out."_

John dug into his thigh pocket and fished out an MRE. _"I don't have ice cream, but I do have…"_ He checked the name and became sarcastic _"Wild Turkey Surprise!" _He tolled his eyes and tossed the bar to Sam.

Sam quickly tore open the package and took a few bites; her voice was muffled behind half chewed pieces. _"You're an angel." _She quickly finished half the bar and offered the remaining half back.

John shook his head, looked down to the HUD and muttered. _"Nah, keep it. That fruit juice they gave me was really thick."_ John motioned his head to the back of the jumper. _"Get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."_

Sam swallowed her bites, nodded and then pushed herself up _"Wake me in 4 hours… I don't want you passing out either."_

John nodded and stretched his neck. _"No problem, you need anything just yell."_

Sam scoffed as she hobbled to the aft. _"I think I'll be…" _An alarm went off, and Sam mentally screeched at the timing. _"What? What is it?"_

John's fingers flew across the controls and the HUD showed a 3-dimensional map of the planet and orbiting ships. _"I set up an alert if the Wraith transports lifted off… they're leaving."_

Sam winced and cursed under her breath. _"Damn… do you have any estimates on how many people they've taken?"_

John brought up the sensor data, and sighed. _"Not too many… about 50 maybe 100 total. They've destroyed the outpost we've set up as well. Looks like we were the primary target."_

It sucked to hear that. All they'd done was arrive to do some negotiating and try and set up a trading post. Sam clenched her fists and sat back down. _"We can't let them get away…"_

John nodded idly but sighed heavily _"There's not much we can do… this Jumper isn't exactly a match for that Hive."_

Sam sat down and leaned forward to work on the dash. Rodney had given her a crash course on the Jumper and she'd had prior experience using Janus's time jumper as well. She brought up the main weapons system and did a quick check. _"There're 12 drones in the bays… I think if we did an Alpha Strike we could take out their hyperdrive."_

John grumbled softly. 12 Drones wasn't a lot of firepower against a Hive. _"I doubt it… the Hyperdrive is buried pretty deep. If we don't punch all the way through, they'll still just waltz on outta here." _He didn't bother to mention that they'd also probably be dead from the dozens of energy cannons and darts flying around, no sense depressing the situation any further.

Sam growled softly, angry that this was happening. _"We can't let them go… it's likely our people are on that hive, not to mention the people from the planet."_

John didn't need his arm twisted, but he wasn't suicidal despite many claims to the opposite. _"I know… I know dammit…"_ He thought about it for a second, and then looked to Sam. _"Alright… Scan the ship, look for any way we can disable their hyperdrive without actually having to get to the drive itself. I'll get into position." _

Sam quickly began to go over the ship's schematics, sensor data flew over and she looked for something, anything that could keep the Hive in orbit long enough for Daedalus to arrive. It wasn't long before she found something. _"Power conduits!"_

John looked and shook his head in confusion. _"Uhh…"_

Sam winced as she realized she'd have to explain it to him. _"Look, there's 2 different conduits that feed power to the engines. If we could damage them enough, it would take awhile to repair it."_

John clicked his tongue. _"Long enough for Daedalus?"_

Sam didn't answer, she simply didn't know.

With a heavy sigh, John nodded as he understood and began to move the Jumper. _"You're right… we don't have a choice. We'll just have to hope we do enough damage for them to still be here after."_

Both mentally prepared themselves as the Jumper moved into a position where it could target all 3 conduits Sam had highlighted. _"Fire everything we've got. We'll re-cloak as soon as we've fired and run. Hopefully they won't get a chance to fire in time."_

John grumbled again, and put more power towards the engines. _"I'm gonna wait till most of those Darts and Transports have landed, no sense giving them more chances to shoot back."_

Sam nodded and controlled her breathing. _"Good idea…"_

Neither could really say anything now, they simply waited.

The Darts moved in slowly, no rush seeing as they thought they were alone. The Transports docked as well and now only the CAP was left to enter the hanger bay. _"Ready?_"

Sam nodded, and drew in a breath. _"Ready."_

John mentally dropped the cloak and painted the targets, the weapon ports on the Jumper extended out and the 12 drones spat out in bursts of 2. Each pair streaked across the Wraith Hive, turning down and boring deeply into the organic armor of the massive vessel.

Steam and debris ejected from the ship as it came under fire, its weapon turrets turned and charged up, preparing to fire on their surprise attacker. The few Darts that still weren't docked veered off and hit full afterburner towards the Jumper.

John fired the last pair of drones the Jumper had left, and immediately began evasive maneuver barely dodging the opening barrage from the Hive. _"Hang on!"_

The cloak would take about 5 seconds to finish reforming once the weapons ports were back in, and even at maximum evasive maneuvers and engine thrust, John was hard pressed to avoid the hailstorm of plasma energy.

The Hive was listing now, the conduits badly damaged from the pinpoint strike and now floating helplessly in a slightly decaying orbit. Had John more ammo, it would have been a turkey shoot.

So when he pulled the craft into a corkscrew spin on an out system vector, and saw the warning flash across his face, there was only one thing he could say _"Craaap!"_

_------------------------------------_

The Wraith Pilot thumbed the trigger down again, hoping for another lucky shot. Seeing nothing now, the Lantean craft had seemingly escaped. The Queen's delectable voice came over furious. _"Keep firing! Do not let them escape!"_

The pilot _always_ followed orders. The Queen's words were law and to not follow them were heresy. Ever since his hive had awoken 4 years ago and found that there weren't enough humans for his people to feed upon and survive until the next hibernation cycle, being fed to the superior officers and queens was a very real possibility.

These pathetic excuses for Lanteans, who were already pitiable, _must _die. So he fired again, and again.

The almost beautiful azure blue streaking across space was pointless, but his sensors now screeched at him. Debris had appeared from nowhere.

--------------------------------------

Sam had grabbed her collar and put it in her mouth. John had been stunned by the shock of the blast and the windshield had cracked. The aft section was their only hope and she bit down on her collar as she got up and pulled him out of the seat. _"Move John!"_

He mumbled something, still reeling from the shock. The windshield cracked a few more inches, the atmosphere inside threatening to explosively decompress. She pulled him by his arms back, groaning loudly as she bore the pain in her ankle as well as the strain of his weight.

Sam had just gotten him into the aft section; the bulkhead between them was the only way to limit the decompression to the front. She swung around and hit the close button.

And that's when the windshield finally broke and shattered into a million pieces.

--------------------------------------

The Wraith Pilot was pleased, he'd been the one to score the lucky shot, and now with debris and atmosphere detected, it was clear what had happened. _"The Lantean Craft is damaged, most likely the occupants are dead from vacuum."_

A hiss from his queen, a sign of pleasure. _"Excellent, return to the Hive, you shall be the first to feed after I."_

The Wraith salivated; it was going to be a good day after all.

---------------------------------------

John groaned loudly as consciousness came back to him. He could feel the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, as well the soreness on the rest of his body. _"Goddamn… anyone get the plates?"_

A laugh from afar and a mutter. _"Thank god you're ok… Come on! I need your help!"_

John opened his eyes, saw the lights in the Jumper were off, and wondered how much damage they'd taken. _"Ugh… gimme a second… I think I got whiplash." _He rubbed his posterior trying to be funny. It was a defense mechanism for John as humor always saw him through any adversity.

Of course Sam was in no mood for it at the moment. _"No you don't, so get up! Come on!"_

He understood from her tone it was serious, and looking at her now he saw that he must have been unconscious for a time. Sam stood at the front of the aft section with a tablet in her hands, and now a flashlight in her mouth as she worked on it. _"What happened? We took fire and then…"_

Sam motioned with her head for him to come over; John idly began to rub his arms as he felt a little shiver. He peered over her shoulder and saw a diagnostic of the jumper on the screen. Sam's voice was muffled. _"Fwashwight"_

"_Hmm?" _She grunted in frustration and he understood._ "Oh!" _John quickly pulled out the flashlight from her mouth, and then made sure he still had his. _"Sorry… what'd you need?"_

Sam grunted, and brought up the information. _"That dart nailed us hard. The front section is exposed to space, and I barely got you in here before it blew."_

John felt like crap, even more than he did before. _"That explains the blinding light and the searing ass pain… How much damage have we taken?"_

Sam blew a hard breath, blowing the stray strands of hair out of her eyes as she scoffed in slight amusement. _"A lot. The entire secondary power grid is literally gone. Lights, Communications, basic control interface, even the mental control interface… all disabled. The decompression tore the conduits out and all we have left is primary power but no control. Engines, Cloak, Life Support… well… mostly."_

John noticed she was shivering, was she afraid? He would have never imagined Sam Carter being afraid but he had to admit it was possible… and terrifying. _"Mostly?"_

Sam nodded and brought up a schematic of the side of the ship. _"The ship has four heating plates along the sides that draw residual energy from the engines."_

"_Mmhmm…"_

"_When the conduits were torn out, the power connection and distribution grid was badly damaged, so there's no power getting to them."_

John rubbed his arms some more, and understood the implication. _"That's why it's getting so cold." _Sam nodded, and brought up more diagrams, but before she could speak John added. _"Can we run a bypass or use the primary distribution grid? Or would that overload them?"_

Sam raised both eyebrows. After so many years of working with Jack O'Neill, it was an odd surprise to deal with a Military Man with a science background. _"Uhh… I'm getting to that. You get this stuff?"_

John nodded, and rubbed his hands together. It _was_ getting colder. _"4 years of dealing with McKay, you pick up a few things."_

Despite the situation, Sam was impressed, granted it wasn't actually all that difficult, but it had been awhile since she worked with anyone who understood the mechanics of what she sometimes had to do. _"Right… uh well… yes, I can run a bypass, but we need to move fast, a lot of the insulation the ship has was ripped out as well and it's gonna get A LOT colder. I'm guessing we have maybe 20 minutes before it gets cold enough for hypothermia. And I haven't even begun to consider getting control of the ship back so we're still probably heading out system."_

John nodded and rubbed his bare forearms. _"Whaddya need?"_

"_There should be tools in the netting; some extra flashlights would help too."_

John moved fast, quickly grabbing a small toolkit, and a pair of vests from the netting. He handed one to Sam and offered to take the tablet. _"Put it on… help with the cold."_

Sam nodded, slung the vest on without a word and accepted the tablet back. She tapped a few more controls to it and set it down so the wire connecting it to the aft control pad

Sam rubbed her hands together as well and then motioned to the side of the Jumper. _"Gimme a hand? I need to pry off the panel."_

John moved in, and helped her settle down on the port side of the ship. She tried to use some of the smaller tools to pry the panel off but it was a no go. So John pulled her knife out from its holster on her leg and handed it to her _"Here… that should work better."_

Sam accepted the knife and began to pry the panel off. A few moments and it popped loose. She rubbed the back of her hand as she resheathed the knife, the temperature quickly dropping. _"Thanks, now… hold the flashlight."_

John nodded without a word and grabbed the flashlight. He shone it into the open section and saw that there was significant damage inside. His arms were getting cold, and John knew Sam must have been thinking about hypothermia, frostbite, freezing to death, pretty grim stuff really. So he decided to try and lighten the mood. _"I should warn you, my brother tried to fix the car once, he ended up putting brake fluid in the transmission and he blamed my inept flashlight handling."_

Sam couldn't help it, it was so random and ridiculous she had to start laughing _"Are you serious? How the hell do you get those two mixed up?"_ Sam appreciated what he was doing, and that's why she didn't just tell him to be quiet. But if he started babbling then she would gladly tell him to shut up and pay attention.

John shrugged. _"He's the business kind of man; I doubt he ever pumped his own gas after 23. I always did love teasing him about it."_

Sam noted that he used past tense, also that in his tone of voice he had a little regret. Maybe he'd tell her about it one day, but now was not the time. _"Well you're doing fine so far… and I'll need a hand in a minute so let's hope you've gotten better."_

John chuckled, but noticed Sam was shivering already. Her Atlantis Jumpsuit wasn't exactly the warmest thing, and despite wearing another vest, it was obvious she wasn't comfortable. John tried not to think about it and hoped Sam hurried up.

It was definitely getting colder. John estimated it went from the typically 80 degrees Fahrenheit to something around 55 now. Not freezing or even that cold yet, but it had been a steep quick drop. It wouldn't be long before he could see the vapor of his breath.

"_Alright… there's a lot more damage than I anticipated… I'm only going to be able to get one side of these heaters working…"_

John resisted sighing in resignation. _"Is that gonna be enough? It's getting pretty cold pretty fast."_

Sam turned and looked at him; she did some quick calculations and shrugged indecisively. _"I'm gonna guess maybe 50 or 60 degrees with only one side… especially since the insulation is damaged."_

John nodded; time was a serious factor here. _"What do you need?"_

Sam huffed once, and then got back into the panel. _"Help me rip out this conduit; We'll need it for the other side."_

John moved in, and sat beside Sam as she pointed out the cables. _"Just yank it?"_

"_Yeah, it should be cut already. Just yank it out and keep it handy."_

John did as he was told, and felt the first shiver go up his spine as he worked. Sam worked on releasing some kind of clamp using some finer tools and was having trouble from shivering. He realized that he had a natural resistance to the cold from having been stationed in Antarctica. Sam had spent the last 11 years in very temperate or even desert like conditions.

She wasn't complaining though… at least not yet. _"Alright… I'm almost done…"_

John pulled out the last of the conduit Sam had indicated and tossed it to the other side of the Jumper. _"How much longer you think?"_

John could see his breath now; the temperature had dropped _very _fast. Sam was openly shivering and her teeth chattered a bit. _"5… maybe 10 minutes… depends how bad it is over there."_

Upon finishing releasing the clamp that she'd use to fix the bypass, Sam tried to get up. Her foot complained and she let a slight groan out. John knew there wasn't time for pleasantries and simply picked Sam up despite the pain in his shoulder and chest.

Sam didn't complain, and when he let her go and set her down on the bench, she hesitated for a second before getting to work. She leaned in and using the knife again, pried off the panel. John felt useless, even though he might understand a thing or two, he wasn't anywhere near qualified to actually work on these systems.

So he tried to think of someway of helping Sam, and figuring that keeping her warm was the best thing to do, he pulled out the emergency blanket from the field kit in the cargo netting above. He unwrapped it silently and then draped it around Sam.

Sam stopped for a second, turned to John and with a slightly worried look muttered. _"Thanks… but you should get under here too… come on... this isn't the time to be shy."_

John grumbled a bit, and silently got in under the blanket as well. It was a bit awkward to put his arms around his commanding officer's shoulders to try and keep her warm, but harsh environments called for desperate measures. Sam leaned back into him, any thoughts of awkwardness negated by the sheer frost in her body.

Sam kept shivering though, and as she used the knife to cut through layers of the conduit, her trembling hands lost their grip and the knife dropped into her lap, thankfully hilt first. Sam curled up and tried to warm her hands by rubbing them together but with the temperature clearly below freezing now, it didn't do much.

John winced for a second, then turned her around and began to run her hands for her. Softly rubbing and breathing on them quickly got her back to some sense of normality. Neither had to say anything, the wide eyed thankful look in her eyes was all he needed to see how much she appreciated his effort.

A few seconds of warming up, and Sam got back to work. She finished cutting the conduit and began to splice the clamp she had taken from the other side. Their misted breath was incredibly eerie as neither said a word.

John noted with apprehension that not even 2 minutes after warming her up, her hands were trembling again. Sam worked as fast as she could but with her fingers quivering from the cold, she soon had to stop.

This was taking longer than John had anticipated, if he had to take a guess, the temperature was probably -10 Fahrenheit and still dropping. The coldness of deep space wasn't kidding around, too much more and it'd be minus 40 in both Fahrenheit _and _Celsius.

Without even waiting for her to turn, John took her hands, and warmed them up again. Sam leaned in close this time and dropped her head onto his shoulder, trying to warm her neck as well. _"What are you, Inuit? How can you take this cold?!"_

John finally gave in and wrapped his arms completely around her. The suffering in her voice was heart wrenching and he couldn't take it anymore. He used one hand to warm her shoulders and neck and the other to warm he back. _"Year at McMurdo… in the winter no less… Guess I got used to it." _

Sam snorted, and hugged him back tightly trying to warm up. She pulled on the blanket around them and tried to keep breathing. _"Oh that's wonderful… You have any idea how hot NORAD and Area 51 are? I'm turning into an icicle…"_

John shrugged a bit and kept warming her up. He checked his _'licking'_ comment and tried to reassure Sam. _"Well you're not there yet… let's get this done and I'll cook us dinner."_

Sam laughed and nodded as she turned around to continue working. She pushed any thoughts about how good it felt to be that close to someone. _"Alright… back to work…"_

As she worked, Sam felt John's arms wrap around her again and his body press up against her back. Sam had just finished attaching the final conduit needed when her hands again turned into frozen claws. She quickly spun around and jumped into John's arms, shoving her hands into his shirt to warm her hands by his lower back. Sam was amazed at how cold the jumper had gotten.

John on the other hand was surprised by her survival instinct. His yelp got them both tittering. _"Nyah! Careful there… that's a tender area…" _Sam didn't reply, only giggling lightheartedly.

Frostbite was a concern in the back of his mind, but he was incredibly thankful for his and Sam's military combat boots. They were heavily insulated using Kevlar and other high tech fabrics to keep out the water and cold so while the rest of his and Sam's bodies were freezing, their feet were only relatively cold. John was breathing a sigh of relief at having forced Sam to put her boot back on after treating her foot.

John was shivering hard now too, and he unabashedly pulled Sam and the blanket closer. _"Almost done?"_ His teeth chattered and he contemplated how bad Sam must have been feeling if he already felt this crappy.

Sam nodded, but again was shaking like a leaf. _"Almost…" _She finished attaching the bypass to the 2 heating plates and turned the power on. _"Alright… the heat should start there…" _Sam pointed to a specific point near the back of the Jumper, her hand shaking and skin pale.

Without pause, John picked Sam up again, brought her close to this chest and hauled her over to where she'd pointed. Sam didn't protest and wrapped her arms tightly around him as she dropped her face onto his shoulder. Sam didn't really know what she could say other than _"Thanks…" _as he held her up to the wall of the Jumper.

John simply nodded, and rubbed her back softly to keep her warm. Sam slowly stopped shivering and eventually even he could feel the heat coming from the side of the Jumper. _"Alright… that's one certain death situation dealt with… what about the engines?"_

Sam nodded, and tried not to think about how his warm breath across her neck send shivers down her spine… and it wasn't because of the cold... _"Shouldn't be hard… shutting them down that is… getting control back…"_ She ended on an unsure tone.

John shivered as he felt Sam's hand run along his spine. Granted, she was trying to stay warm, but he hoped she didn't notice him ever so stealthily try and tuck a certain part of him away in a place she wouldn't inadvertently bump into it. _"Doesn't matter… not like we could do anything even if we did have control… that Hive is probably still out there until Daedalus shows up."_

Sam nodded, and motioned over to the side of the jumper. _"Alright… gimme a hand to pull the plug on the engines."_

John picked her up again, Sam softly grumbling, but not saying anything. He understood, she didn't want to appear weak or feminine in the face of danger. John decided to nip it in the bud before Sam began to nag him _"Yeah yeah…I know you can walk… Keller told me to keep you off your feet and damn it, that's what I'm going to do."_

Sam grunted in frustration, she may have enjoyed being carried, but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't some delicate flower. Now since he'd pre-empted her with Keller's words, Sam had no choice but to accept it. _"Fine… but I really can walk you know."_

He didn't reply, and instead watched as Sam began to use the tools she'd been holding to release the power conduit that led to the engines. It took a few seconds for Sam to unclamp the conduit and pull it out. _"Alright, other side?"_

John checked his snort, not even a minute ago she was pissed off he was carrying her around, and now she was riding him like a camel? Whatever… He picked her up and felt her toned armed wrap around his neck to stabilize her.

He sat down again, but this time she took a position between his legs. John hadn't meant for them to sit like that but she didn't really give him much choice with the way she hung off him. Sam's sudden mini-yelp and suppressed giggles told him he'd been caught.

Sam's voice was comically muted. _"Umm… John…?"_

'_Play it off… play it off…' _John's thoughts struggled now that he could feel her back against his pants. _"Uhh…yeah?"_

Sam tittered for a second, it was by far the last thing she'd been thinking at the time, but since it was still below freezing, although now slowly rising in temperature, the heat from his belt buckle was incredibly noticeable. _"Umm… Is that…?"_

John made a somewhat sheepish noise with his throat, and shifted a bit. He was _not_ going to get outwitted by this! _"Uhh… I'd say it was my sidearm but… I left it back on the planet."_

Sam couldn't help it, and the laugh escaped her mouth. She could already see the blushing face of John Sheppard at having been caught pitching a tent as it were. And even more so that the tent was poking her backside in a very sensitive area. Sam struggled vainly not to giggle as she worked and decided to _really_ stick it to him. _"You know… back in the Milky Way once; Me and then Colonel O'Neill got trapped in an ice shelf and had to try and keep warm… he used the same excuse except he actually HAD his sidearm."_

_John groaned loudly, and started laughing despite himself. "Is there anything I can say that'll end this conversation… __**now**__?"_ He added emphasis to the _'now' _hoping that Sam had a bit of a heart.

Of course after constant teasing since John realized he could and she wasn't going to get pissed off, Sam was only having way too much fun despite the circumstances. _"Not a thing John. He ordered me not to giggle but I outrank you…!" _The giggling coming from her could only be described as merciless.

She worked on unclamping the conduit even as John made a vain attempt at sounding humiliated. _"Ugh… you're a cruel cruel woman Colonel Samantha Carter."_

Sam had just finished the last clamp and gave it a tug when she realized it was stuck. She'd need John's help to finish cutting power to the engines. _"Not a side I show often… you should be proud you're getting to see it." _Enough games, back to work. _"Sorry to burst the bubble but I need a hand. Help me pull this conduit out and the engines should shut off."_

John, grateful the subject matter was now back to survival and not his anatomy, quickly took hold of the topic._ "Yes… yes of course what do you need?"_

Sam again couldn't help it and tittered once before shaking it out of her head and pointing. _"Grab that, and pull with me."_

John made absolutely no attempt to say the insinuative thing that came into his mind, and reaching around Sam, grabbed the cable a little higher than she had it. _"Ready?"_

"_On 3…" _Sam nodded and winced, her head still ached and the painkillers were wearing off. _"1…2…3!"_

John pulled on the conduit, it was damn well stuck and for a moment he didn't think it was going to come loose, but then Sam added her own weight into the mix and yanked hard. It popped loose suddenly and she found herself flying back into John.

Neither were in a stable position in the first place, so when her back slammed into his already bruised chest, he groaned loudly from the surprise attack and crumpled backwards as he fell. It was bad enough to hit the hard deck of the Jumper unexpectedly, but then to have Sam's weight land on top of his bruised chest again with some cruel fortune, the wind was utterly knocked out of him.

Sam yelped as she landed, and immediately began to shake him _"John! Oh god I'm sorry! Are you alright?"_

John drew in short hard breaths, his lungs refusing to cooperate peacefully. He nodded gently and in a barely understandable horse tone replied. _"Oh yeah… never better…"_

Sam snickered as she rolled off and laid beside him. Immediately she cuddled closer since the jumper was still quite cold._ "If you don't mind… I'm gonna pass out now."_

John coughed twice, then pulling her closer and into a comfortable position, muttered as she rested her head on his right shoulder. _"Good idea… I think I'll join you."_

They both chuckled softly, and then leaving a single flashlight on the bench, closed their eyes and fell almost right to sleep.

-----------------------------------


	6. Trying Times

_**Chapter 6 – Trying Times**_

_----------------------------------_

_**Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay: **__"Major! This is inexcusable! I can't work in these conditions!"_

_**Major Evan Lorne:**__ "Whatsa matter Doc? Are the Wormulons getting to you?"_

_**Dr Meredith Rodney McKay: **__"For one, what am I even doing here? I can do all the preparations I need to do back home on Atlantis and just arrive later once Daedalus shows up. Second! The Medical teams are getting in my way and are demanding we share space near the gate, Thirdly, the Marine guard you've put in charge of preventing anyone from getting to the MRE's is all too much efficient! Hypoglycemic? Mean anything to you? And lastly, I'm getting sick and tired of people asking me where they can hunt down the worm queen so they can get the secret supply of Slurm!"_

_**Major Evan Lorne:**__ "So you don't deny there is Slurm on this planet?"_

_------------------------------------_

Major Lorne had a weird love/hate relationship with these moments. Sure he liked being in command, and even more so, by being in command, he didn't have to carry heavy crates. But there was another side to it, being in command meant everybody came to you for everything.

"_Sir, the medical staff have a problem with the area where the Triage station is being set up."_

Lorne checked his groan, and looked to the Chief Warrant Officer explaining it to him.

"_They say it's a little too close to the forest for comfort, and ever since they saw that big worm creature they've been… uncomfortable."_

Oh great, scared of insects. This was going to be a _great_ day. _" *sigh* How long would it take to move everything closer to the gate?"_

"_About 4 hours. A lot of the electrical equipment has already been set up."_

Not like it mattered, with another day and a half to wait for Daedalus to come and pick up the strike team, it shouldn't be difficult to get this place to at least some semblance of order _"Alright, tell the engineers to pack up and pick another spot. And post 2 marines on rotating shifts to protect them from the evil wormulons."_

He made no effort to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. If his own penchant for wit wasn't enough, years of working with Colonel Sheppard had completely ingrained it to his soul. _"Yes sir, and I think Dr McKay is outside waiting for you."_

Lorne rubbed his forehead, this tent that was passing for an office just would not stay empty. _"Alright, send him in on your way out. Dismissed."_

The Chief Warrant Officer saluted quickly and left the tent. Rodney's voice was evident even from inside. _"Finally! Maybe now something important will get done… out of my way brute!"_

Lorne stifled his laugh, the marine guard outside was specifically chosen for his patience in dealing with civilians. He prayed Dr McKay didn't try and break him. The curtain to the tent opened and Rodney launched into one of his infamous rants. _"Major! This is inexcusable! I can't work in these conditions!"_

Lorne leaned back and gave a half smile. God he was enjoying this all too much. _"Whatsa matter Doc? Are the Wormulons getting to you?"_

McKay grunted in frustration, and began to pace back and forth. _"For one, what am I even doing here? I can do all the preparations I need to do back home on Atlantis and just arrive later once Daedalus shows up." _He drew in a deep breath and continued his rant._ "Second! The Medical teams are getting in my way and are demanding we share space near the gate."_ He waved his hands in front of him in frustration. _ "Thirdly, the Marine guard you've put in charge of preventing anyone from getting to the MRE's is all too much efficient! Hypoglycemic? Mean anything to you?" _He pointed to himself and shuddered thinking of what might happen if he didn't eat soon. "_And lastly, I'm getting sick and tired of people asking me where they can hunt down the worm queen so they can get the secret supply of Slurm!" _Now Rodney lost it. His fists waved in front of him and his face turned beet red.

Lorne took a moment to digest it all, seemingly very affected by Rodney's words. He then leaned forward and deadpanned. _"So you don't deny there is Slurm on this planet?"_

From Captain Vega's point of view, the scream of frustration that came from the tent was all too comical and seeing Ronon beside her smiling and chuckling to himself, felt reassured nothing bad was happening. _"That happen often?"_

Ronon grunted. _"Only when Lorne's around."_

Alicia chuckled and finished assembling the XM-8. _"Alright, next?"_ She handed the weapon off to a technician who put the weapon on the rack he'd just finished installing and set the weapon down gently. Another technician handed her a P90 from the crate on the floor.

To her other side, Sergeant Dusty Mehra eyed Ronon's blaster enviously as she sat on a crate; it was such an elegant weapon and she'd gladly kill for one. Ronon noticed immediately and muttered. _"Don't even think about it."_

Dusty grumbled. _"Can I just…?"_

Ronon deadpanned. _"No."_

"_But…"_

"_No."_

"_I'll be…"_

"_No."_

Alicia chuckled, took the P90 from the technician unloading the crates, and gave it a cursory inspection. If it weren't for the tall, dark, handsome and yet still somewhat amusing warrior next to her, this boring and unfortunately required aspect of her job would likely drive Alicia insane. _"You heard the man Dusty, quit poking the bear."_

Ronon turned to her and growled. _"Bear? The hell is a bear?"_

Dusty stifled a laugh and decided to go for broke. _"It's a toy that's supposed to be a cute version of a big beast." _The look of muted rage Ronon shot Dusty was almost a stunner bolt in itself.

Alicia quickly gave her subordinate an escape plan. Albeit the thought of seeing Dusty fly from one of Ronon's throwing techniques nipped at her impulsiveness. _"Uhh Dusty, I think Porter could use a hand with whatever it is she's doing! Go ahead, I'll be fine here."_

Dusty quickly nodded in agreement, and zipped away before Ronon could lash back with his own silent wit. He stared at Alicia who struggled not to laugh. _"She's brave…"_

Alicia snickered, and shook her head idly as she rolled her eyes. _"Sometimes a little too brave."_

Dusty quickly ended up in the triage section, thankfully not as a patient, but just an annoying bystander giving her teammate some unwarranted distraction as she packed up her gear _again_. Dusty sat on a triage bed with her feet swaying back and forth. _"What's that?"_

Dr Porter answered succinctly, hoping that Dusty would get the hint and walk away. _"Glucose."_

"_What's it do?"_

"_Feeds your body."_

"_And that? What's that?"_

Allison started to get a little less tactful. _"Morphine."_

"_Cool, And that?"_

"_Oxymetholone." _Allison muttered idly as she put the pills away, not remembering that Dusty was a soldier first.

"_What's it do?"_

"_It's an androgenic steroid." _Alison regretted saying it the instant it came out.

Dusty's attention instantly peaked. _"Ohh cool. Can…"_

"_No! You can't have any."_ Alison didn't know for a fact whether Dusty wanted the prescription only drug, But she'd already had to fend off several other marines who felt they could use a boost.

Thankfully Dr Keller had noticed the childish bickering and came to assist her. _"She's right Sergeant. We use it to help feeding victims recover from the trauma and even then only in severe cases. I think Lieutenant Cadman could use some help inventorying the C4 and ammunition crates, why don't you go help her?"_

Dusty got the hint, and getting up off the triage bed, nodded. _"Cool, Of course Doc."_

Allison waited till Dusty was well out of earshot and sighed. _"She's not as bad as you might think… Just a little excitable."_

Jennifer snickered and patted Allison on the shoulder. _"Tell me about it…"_

Dr Keller left Allison to her duty, and walked back towards the Medical tent that was being taken down now. She could already hear his irate voice, but knew enough now to know that he was just being himself.

"_What? No! I can't pick that up right now! I'm under strict orders to not carry more than 15 pounds at a time! Maybe if you talked to your boss more often you'd know these things!"_

Jennifer pushed through the tent opening and kept her voice somewhat calm. _"Dr McKay… If I could have your assistance?"_ She was hoping he was still somewhat confused over their little drink date a few weeks prior and would be easy to manipulate. The orderly he'd been yelling at rolled his eyes and walked away mumbling something about colonoscopies.

Rodney looked over to her, instantly lost the imposing posture, and shrugged about a bit. _"Umm… what'd you need? I'm kinda busy trying to keep your people from invading my personal space where my workstation is…"_

Jennifer grumbled a bit, feeling that tinge of annoyance Rodney could create in even the most patient people, and pointed over to where the new computer system had been installed. _"I need to start hooking up all the medical sensors to the main computer, but most of my staff is busy moving our stuff closer to the gate. Soo…"_ She moved in closer, hoping Rodney would be affected. _"…I'll make you a deal, you help me set up the whole network thingy, and I'll make sure my people stay out of your way. Deal?"_

Rodney's mouth became a small circle as he considered it. Any time he spent with Jennifer usually turned out to be a major debacle, and ever since their little beer date, he'd been wondering how things stood between them. _"Uhmm… okay… but I can only help for an hour or 2. I've got a ton of work to do in since it's likely we'll be boarding a Wraith Hive… Alright?"_

Jennifer nodded, glad that her people weren't going to take anymore undue abuse, and decided to enjoy poking fun at Rodney. _"Alright. I'm at your service, what do you… want me to do?" _She was pleasantly rewarded with Rodney's jaw hitting the floor as his mind made the insinuative connection. God… sometimes she loved being young and attractive.

---------------------------------------------

Sam felt something moving under her. For a brief moment, she wondered exactly where she was, how she'd gotten there, and why her head felt like it was sandwiched between a jackhammer and a concrete floor.

"_Hey sleepy head. Welcome back."_

John… it had to be. Only he or maybe Jack would possibly be able to joke around effectively and be heard despite the agonizing thump in her head. _"Do I have to?"_

John's hand ran across the back of her head and his fingers smoothed out the mattes of her long blonde hair. _"Not really, but you keep waking me up with your jimmy legs so I'm getting a little payback."_

Jimmy legs? What? And was John really cradling her head and soothing her? Was she really here?

Spatial awareness finally dawned on her. Of course he was doing this! She was still injured, still lying on the floor of this jumper cuddled up to him for warmth, and he was just trying to make her feel better. And damnit, she was going to sit there and accept his hospitality! It had been a good while since she'd had any sort of comfort like this… and he _had_ helped her recuperate from her broken leg… Damnit, she was going to accept his comfort and be happy with it! Of course John would be somewhat comfortable seeing as they were in the same bed, even if that bed was a cold hard Jumper floor...

But the ground felt soft under Sam… really warm too, and it was moving.

'_Aw nuts…' _Sam thought to herself. In her sleep and comfort deprived state, she'd rolled onto him while asleep looking for something more comfortable than the aforementioned cold Jumper floor. But thankfully he seemed pretty nonchalant about it and even held her in place, making sure she was comfy despite the harsh circumstances. Sam decided to play it off as well and just relax with her eyes still closed. _"How long was I out?"_

John whispered, replying at the same volume level as her voice. _"5, maybe 6 hours. I woke up like 20 minutes ago. Feel like breakfast?"_

Food… _Yes_… Food and more sleep. That's what Sam wanted. Now if she could only get both of them while remaining in this oh so comfortable position. _"Yes… Hungry."_

John chuckled and reaching out, pulled a satchel over. _"There's plenty of food and water… no need to ration." _John pulled a few MRE's out and shuffled them about. _"But we've only got a few flashlights. Dunno if they'll last until rescue."_

Sam nodded, she was already 2 bites into her first MRE which surprised John. It was the most delicious fake apricot she'd ever had. _"Whe khan huk eat up toe dah powha gwrid."_

John blinked at her, trying to translate what she said. _"Uhh.. Did you just say we could eat the power grid?"_

Sam giggled, whether he was seriously confused or not it was a good laugh to her. She finished chewing and shook her head and spoke sarcastically. _"Yes John. I just said we could eat the power grid… who needs MRE's for energy when I can just hook up some jumper cables directly to your tongue that'll give you all the juice you can handle?"_

John scoffed, and then chuckled to himself in a rueful tone. _"Sorry, been there done that. Hell it was my first week in Atlantis."_

Sam shifted and tried to pull herself up. She was awake now, and with food and water available, her wit was slowly coming back. _"I think you're gonna have to explain that…" _

_------------------------------------_

"_Sorry Sir, nothing as of yet. We can dial the planet, but the UAV we sent was shot down a second after it appeared. The images and sensor data it sent back before showed a lot of enemy craft in the area around the gate."_

Major Lorne growled. He had hoped that the Wraith would have left by now and they could begin rescue and recovery operations. But what was even more troubling was that contact had been lost with Sheppard and Carter. It was troubling to think that they may have been captured. _"Alright Chuck… try radioing again every hour just in case."_

"_Yes Sir."_

Lorne let the Stargate shut off, the brilliant blue light it emanated quickly vanished and he was left alone at the DHD. Or at least he thought he was alone. _"So Sheppard and Carter are lost…"_

Ronon's voice startled Lorne, but only for a moment. _"Jeez Ronon, You're pretty freaking quiet for a big guy."_

Ronon's big hand came down on Lorne's shoulder and his growl was nothing but friendly. _"7 Years of fighting Wraith, you learn a few things."_

Lorne sighed, and looking around he whispered. _"On that note… if they have been captured… How long you think they'll have before…?"_

It was a depressing question, but Ronon simply growled and shook his head. _"They're alive… and I don't think the Wraith have them."_

"_What makes you say that?" _Lorne was hoping Ronon was being more than just optimistic.

"_The Wraith are still there. If it were just a culling they'd be gone by now."_

Lorne had to admit, it was a good piece of deductive reasoning. _"Good point… Maybe they had to get far enough away from the planet to avoid the Wraith… maybe…"_ He sighed again, frustrated. _"There's just too many maybes…"_

Ronon growled and motioned for Lorne to come with him. _"Trust me… they'll be fine. If anything I'm worried they'll kill each other from the boredom." _

Lorne scoffed as he realized what might happen. He'd known Sam for a long time and he'd been witness to some very comical moments. The only man she knew who had been able to get close to her was General O'Neill… but with him 3 million light years away… and Sheppard… _'Nah… Sheppard's an honorable wolf sure, and Sam's no sheep… of course they'll be… Hmm… at least I hope they'll be fine."_

Ronon seemed to notice Lorne's hesitation and deep thoughts and laughed. _"There something you not telling me?"_

Lorne rubbed the back of his neck and tried to play it off. _"Nah… just… I'm still worried."_

Ronon chuckled, and knew damn well what was making Lorne nervous. The expedition might know it as Cabin Fever, but all Ronon knew was he'd almost kissed Dr Keller and he barely knew her beforehand. From what Ronon had seen, Sheppard and Carter were a lot friendlier and well…

Lorne furrowed his brow and mimicked Ronon's tone. _"Something YOU not telling me?"_

Ronon smiled, and shook his head deviously. He had the feeling that when this was all well and done, he'd have another thing to tease John over than Ferris Wheels.

---------------------------------------

"_Wait, you spent 50 years on that ship?"_

Sam leaned against the bench and multitasked as she worked on regaining control of the Jumper through her jury-rigged tablet. The atmosphere in the Jumper had stayed pretty easygoing and fun; Giggling as John asked what would normally be a ridiculous question, she shrugged indecisively. _"Technically no. But Teal'c had to stay aged in order to give me the subroutine I needed to shut down the Asgard Core without shutting the hyperdrive off."_

John snorted, and his smile gave him away. _"So time travel?"_

Sam noticed his smile, and knew what he wanted to say _"Again, technically no, and I swear if you make a 'I have a thing for older women' joke I'm going to kick you… hard." _Sam made it sound as threatening as possible but her smile told him that she honestly wouldn't have minded… much.

John laughed openly and held his hands up in defense. _"Innocent until proven guilty!" _They both laughed at the thought and John yawned as he stretched. They were sitting across from each other on the floor with a flashlight between them on top of the blanket they shared. The blanket covered their legs which were crisscrossed in the small space keeping warm. _"That sounds a little crazier than my own Time Dilation field story."_

Sam furrowed her brow, was John really going to share his experience with her? The mission report she was thinking of was… vague to say the least. _"Oh? Well I showed you mine… only fair I see yours.'_

He tried his best to stifle his laugh, but seeing Sam's sly smile told him it'd be perfectly alright for him to howl in laughter from the obvious double entendre. Once they both calmed down John sighed as he wiped the tear from his eye. _"Oh god… and here I was gonna ask you to sign off on some shore leave…" _John realized she was serious about knowing his story and got a bit more somber. Most of his friends on the base knew… but not the whole story. _"Well… I'm guessing you've read the report. Right?"_

Sam nodded, _"Yeah… Dr Weir wasn't too finicky on the details though… which I thought was kinda strange."_

John snorted and sighed again, this time missing Liz. _"Yeah well… I asked her to keep it low key… you might have never known those 50 years on Odyssey, but I remember all 6 months in there…"_

Sam smiled and stopped working, her full attention on him. _"I can't imagine what that must have felt like… like they were never going to come."_

John nodded, and he blew a long wistful sigh. _"Yeah… and since I didn't have a volleyball I was going loopy until I left the cave I was in. Met a bunch of convent kooks and well… there wasn't much a choice then."_

"_The report said they were Ancients… or at least people trying to ascend."_

John took a sip from his canteen and nodded. _"Yeah… they'd been there for years… turns out I was what they were waiting for." _He handed the canteen towards Sam.

"_Waiting for?"_ Sam leaned forward and accepted the canteen. _"What do you mean?"_

John wasn't used to talking about his experiences. Anyone who cared to know probably did already since they were there and well… John always thought it was more like bragging. _"One of them… Teer…" _He tried to hide the sadness, the sense of loss that he felt. Sam's soft empathetic expression told him he wasn't doing a good job. _"She said she could see the future… sorta like Davos a few weeks after you came to Atlantis…"_

Sam gulped, she still didn't know for a fact whether what she'd seen would ever come true. It terrified her to think that perhaps not all the Replicators had been destroyed, but she couldn't let even something so convincing cause her to second guess her decisions. _"Yeah… I remember."_

"_Teer… helped me adjust to life there… farming, meditating…" _Sex. It was pretty much the last thing John had been expecting… but he certainly wasn't going to tell this beautiful blonde genius that just happened to be his commanding officer in front of him that he'd given in and accepted that Atlantis wasn't coming and allowed what happened to happen.

It didn't matter. Sam could read between the lines. Ancients had that kind of effect on people she knew from her own experiences, and the last time someone she knew was stranded… _"So you started to meditate as well?"_

John nodded. _"Yeah… I gotta admit, at first it was just extra sleep… but after a while it just… well it was definitely calming."_

Sam smiled, Teal'c had taught her the benefits of Kel'No'Reem and while she didn't see the need for it, she'd tried it once or twice just for the tranquil effects. _"Sounds… relaxing. Do you still meditate?"_

John shook his head, but then shrugged as he became uncertain. _"Well… this stays in here right?"_

Sam smiled and nodded gently. Any chance to learn more about her second in command was worth keeping the secret. _"Of course."_

John sighed. _"I don't do it often… but… sometimes after a mission… especially If we've been in combat with humans."_

It was understandable, the man didn't like having to kill and meditation helped him clear his conscience. Sam had her own little ritual, but she hadn't been forced to use it in a long time. _"I know what you mean… we might keep it tight and frosty but there's always those minutes after…"_

John nodded and rubbed his hands together. _"Yeah…"_

There was a moment of awkward silence, the mood had gotten very somber very fast and Sam felt bad for having gotten him that way. So quickly changing the subject… _"You know… technically you doubled General O'Neill's record as far as most time stranded."_

John raised an eyebrow. _"Say what? He got stranded somewhere too?"_

Sam nodded, and suddenly felt the tinge of sadness over what she saw when O'Neill had finally been rescued. It may have been years before they really admitted anything to each other, but it had still hurt like hell. It took a long time to finally accept it… but she did… eventually. _"Yeah… a planet named Edora. Originally we were there to trade for Naquadah and see a meteor shower but it turned into a rescue mission when we realized the Meteors were going to actually hit the planet."_

John grumbled, the physics of it was flashing before his eyes and he could only imagine what it was like. _"What happened?"_

"_We managed to get most of them out, but General O'Neill and a portion of their population were forced to hide in caves. The gate took a direct hit from a meteor and was buried under a ton of rock."_

John furrowed his brow. _"So the gate was blocked?"_

Sam nodded. _"Yeah, we could form a connection but we couldn't go through."_

"_So… it was like the shield on our gate back home… or the Iris back on Earth."_

Sam did a double take. John understood how it worked? _"Uhh… yeah, actually that's exactly what it was. We were going to send a ship our allies the Tollan had to rescue them, but it would take a year to get there. So instead we used a particle accelerator to bombard the rock with subatomic particles to let the gate form the unstable splash and open it up."_

John blinked, obviously a little confused, and nodded. _"Okay… see that's what I like about you. You don't continually tell me you're a genius like McKay does, you show me."_

Sam laughed, and was relieved that the atmosphere in the Jumper got much lighter. She felt the tinge of giddy embarrassment hit her… the same she got when Jack would praise her intellect. _"Oh come on… you're embarrassing me."_

John gave her his boyish grin and chuckled. _"Oh Modest too? Alright. Sam, you've convinced me. I want you on my team. McKay hates walking anyway and I think you're be less likely to blow up a solar system."_

Sam rolled her eyes and kicked him softly with her left foot. He fought back gently and soon they were laughing at the ridiculous nature of their childish footsie fight along with thrown MRE wrappers. _"Aww… don't tease me John. This galaxy doesn't like it when I leave Atlantis."_ She got a sly look on her face. _"Besides, I HAVE blown up a solar system."_

John's eyebrows shot up. _"Oh now you're teasing me? You gotta tell me the story behind THAT!"_

Sam grinned widely. Technically she'd just blown up a _star_, but the resulting supernova took out the solar system and then some. Not something most people would be proud of, but that was the day they had finally killed Apophis. John's wide eyed look of awe was unbelievably cute too.

----------------------------------

Major Lorne looked at the subspace communications set. _'You can do this… come on… Pain is just weakness leaving the body… There is no spoon… Eye of the tiger… Man UP!' _Lorne kept up the inspirational mental rant and put his finger on the button… then instantly pulled back in desperation. _'GODDAMN MU^!*&#^%*&^!!!'_

Lorne was hesitating in pressing the transmit button not out apprehension, or timidity in speaking to Colonel Caldwell. No, what made him hesitate with his finger above the button was a certain hiccupping Chief Engineer on the Daedalus… one who consistently intercepted his transmissions… and would talk till his ears bled before transferring him to Colonel Caldwell.

It wasn't that he didn't like the quirky Lieutenant, far from it he actually admired her for getting the posting and pushing past her apprehensions. He'd given her a few quick pointers on keeping calm, maintaining control over one's self and general firearms safety.

The issue was it didn't stop there for the Lieutenant. Lorne didn't know exactly how it happened, but from then on every time he was on Daedalus, the almost unnaturally cheerful yet oh so bashful Lieutenant spent every moment possible talking to him, asking him questions about things, hell she once tried to find him to give him a hug out of the blue! Lorne remembered that one particularly as he'd hidden inside a spacesuit to avoid her.

Late one night in Atlantis once with Sheppard, Chuck, a few guitars and a 24 of Labatt blue Chuck had smuggled in, he'd mentioned the funny story to his CO and friend. The merciless teasing that came henceforth forever labeled him _"Lover Lorne." _But thankfully only among the three of them.

Ronon was at the head of the tent, watching intently as Lorne came to pieces over whether to hit the transmit button or not. He remained silent even as Lorne finally took a deep breath, and hit the transmit button. _"Daedalus… this is Major Lorne speaking. Please respond."_

A few seconds passed, and Lieutenant Novak's cheerful voice came in. _"Major Lorne? Is that you?"_

Lorne dropped his head in resignation. _'Here we go again…' 'Yes Lieutenant… Is Colonel Caldwell available?"_

Ronon smiled, now he understood. Novak's voice came in bright and jolly. _"Oh I don't think so Major. I've been looking for him and apparently he's already gone off duty for the night shift. Is there anything… __**I **__can help you with?"_

Lorne shuddered, the mental image in his head was distracting… _very_ distracting. _"Uhhh… no Lieutenant! That's umm… that's alright…! If I could just get an ETA on how long it'll take for Daedalus to arrive?"_

"_Of course Major! Let's see… la da da…"_ Her humming was utterly droll and Ronon couldn't help it anymore.

Ronon snickered and Lorne instantly shot around and gave him a surprised gaze. _"Ronon! How long have you been standing there?"_

Novak finished humming and replied. _"Our ETA at the moment is another 36 hours. I'll see you then my good Major Lorne."_

Now Ronon didn't hold back, and he chortled as Lorne tried to stare him down. Lorne realized that Ronon wasn't in the least bit intimidated and reluctantly got back on the com. _"Yes… thank you Lieutenant…I'll uhh… I'll resume communications in 10 hours. Over?"_

"_I'll be waiting Major!"_

With a final shudder, Lorne hit the button again, finally ending the one sided awkward conversation. He sighed heavily, and hearing Ronon's smirk turned to him and growled. _"How much chocolate is it going to take to keep your mouth shut?"_

_---------------------------------------_


	7. Intermission Of COMEDIC RELIEF!

**Intermission… of Comic Relief**!

----------------

A/N: Well I had an intermission in the original. And since the story is actually a lot tighter it fits since we're about halfway through the story.

----------------

Colonel Caldwell was tired. No make that exhausted. No make that… is there a stronger word than exhausted? Fatigued? Weary? _Somnolent_?

What's it called when your eyes are threatening to explode from the shock your nervous system has taken from being up for 3 days straight?

What about the freshly shaven cheeks he had when he woke up, and the 2mm stubble he had now? Was there a word for that? 3 day shadow… no… _3 day shag_?

He was finally coming off duty, ready, willing, and more than able to hit his bed and sleep hard for the next 10 hours. Thank god it would be another day until they reached the planet Major Lorne was on, and another 6 hours and a half from there to reach Sheppard and Carter.

Caldwell hoped Sheppard was ok. Not that he cared much of course, but he had no doubt that Carter was fine as either they were getting along splendidly, or she'd already stunned him into silence. He'd heard about the quarantine situation on Atlantis recently and wondered how 2 days alone would affect their sanity.

Even worse, 2 days alone with no showers, only MREs and whatever was in the jumper for entertainment? And the small port the Atlantis Engineers had installed in the jumpers for bathrooms? *_shudder_* He hoped they were comfortable with each other and their bodily odors. Caldwell couldn't imagine being trapped with anyone, even someone as friendly as Colonel Carter for any longer than a few hours before getting loopy. Though he did… Nah… Caldwell wasn't even gonna begin to consider that.

So now, as he finally handed the command seat to the night watch crew, he turned his attention to the final task of the day before passing out was acceptable, avoiding the crew, with one Lieutenant in particular.

It was almost customary; the Lieutenant was a surprisingly good ambush artist and she invariably caught him right at a corner when he least expected it. The normally 2 minute walk would end up taking 10 simply attempting to, and invariably failing to dodge her.

A few salutes, a few "Hello Sirs" from other crewmen… why couldn't she be so amicable and understanding as to…

"_Captain Griffin… have you seen Colonel Caldwell?"_

"_Uhh… Sorry Lieutenant… why don't you check the bridge?"_

"_I just did! He's not there! Ohhh where could he be?"_

God bless you Captain Griffin… Caldwell immediately turned to the side hearing Novak around the corner and input his override code. He jumped in quickly despite the surprised 4 marines inside and closed the door. Caldwell did a quick double take at what he saw, one of the Marines was in some kind of inversion machine holding him by his ankles as he punched a 100 lbs boxing bag suspended from the ceiling. It was one of the strangest sights he'd ever seen, and Caldwell had once seen and heard Hermiod singing.

The Marines all shrugged and saluted. _"Sir!"_

He returned an equally respectful salute and nodded. _"Gentlemen… Just passing through,"_

They tittered on the edge of laughter, but kept their composure. Marines did _not _giggle.

Caldwell watched out the crack of the door as Lieutenant Novak walked past, muttering to herself that it was getting harder and harder to find the Colonel. He waited a few moments until he was reasonably sure the Lieutenant was past, then turned back to the Marines. _"Gentleman, it's been a pleasure."_

He saluted the men, and they saluted back, even the one who remained upside down. Taking a peek out, Caldwell finally exited the room and sprinted to his quarters.

Only 4 minutes, a new personal best. He'd have to get those Marines something nice… perhaps a week's duty assignment.

The last thing Caldwell thought of was how his somewhat small but private quarters on the Daedalus was a comparative mansion compared to the Jumper that Carter and Sheppard to had share. He shuddered in horror at the thought that one of them might snore… and it probably wasn't Carter.

------------------------------------


	8. Rapt Awareness

_**Chapter 7 – Rapt Awareness**_

_**--------------------------------**_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"A lot of people think being born into money is luxury… and I guess for some people it might be."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter:**__ "But not you."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Yeah… hell my dad had my whole life planned out when I was 14… Had I followed it I'd be strutting around in an Armani Suit trying to get my hair to stay flat."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter:**__ "You'd look so good in a suit, but flat hair? Please. The hair IS you."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ *Sarcastic* "Great… Thanks."_

_--------------------------------_

_A/N: This longish chapter gets a little angsty near the end… but with good cause. Also a little rant of mine near the end that can only be explained by a healthy scream of "Argh!" _

_--------------------------------_

This was _soo _not the kind of thing Sam did often. There were a dozen rules of conduct floating through her head while it was happening, but it was _such_ a good feeling and well… John certainly didn't look like he minded, or gave her much choice. _"Mmm… You know… if I set up that pedicure business, I want you in the next room to give massages."_

John chuckled, and continued to rub Sam's injured foot even as she moaned softly in pleasure. _"For clients, or for you?"_

Sam gasped as he somehow found a nerve ending and the shiver of pleasure danced up her leg, She tried her best to keep her voice deadpan but the blush in her face and her deeper breathing clearly gave her away so she compromised with her answer. _"Ahh… Both."_

They both laughed, and Sam couldn't believe how great John was making this forced seclusion go by. John seemed to be a lot more relaxed taking care of her than just sitting around, and after such a long time taking care of herself, a few hours… no… minutes of him giving her something she hadn't felt in a long time was an acceptable bend of the rules.

They'd been sitting there for untold hours now, flirting, sharing stories, looking away when one had to use the cheap excuse for a bathroom on board. They had gotten to know each other's thoughts, opinions, and even speech patterns over the course of the last day. It was the only real way to stay sane in such a cramped environment without so much as a ball to bounce.

Had they not learned to be comfortable with each other quickly, Sam was sure she would have gone mad. Why oh why wasn't it HIM who'd gotten trapped with her in the transporter a few months ago? Maybe they wouldn't have had to blow yet another Atlantis door apart… and maybe Sam could look at Zelenka without an instant feeling of "_Icky_".

John smiled and used his fingers to individually massage Sam's toes. It was certainly a feeling she hadn't had in awhile. _"Well… I think we'll have to draw up a prospectus for that when we get back." _They chuckled a bit more, and John motioned over to her tablet. _"Any luck building us a steering wheel?"_

For a moment Sam was confused, was that his thumb rubbing the arch of her heel? _"Huh?" _Wait… he's got that flirty smile on… Damnit! _"Uhh… Yeah! I mean…" _Sam tried to rearrange herself, Focus Carter… Focus… Brain is strong more than foot! Remove foot from mouth! _"No…uhh… the tablet doesn't have enough RAM to control the entire ship, but I can control one system at a time manually."_

John nodded idly, and finally set her foot down on his lap. _"Feel better?"_

Sam took a moment to examine his face. Did he know how he made her feel just now?_ 'Damnit… that smile of his… of course he knows… why else would he be looking at me like that…? _ _'_ The feeling in her foot was still fading, and Sam reluctantly checked her instinct to ask him to keep going…_ "Yeah… thanks… guess that's one of the better nightcaps I can think of."_ She yawned, and looked to the Tablet that had the sensor read out on it. _"The sensors are damaged, and only picking up things about twenty eight hundred kilometers away. We were going at the Jumper's top speed and since we were heading out system when we took fire…"_

John nodded and sighed. _"I'd guess we're nearing the edge of the solar system by now. In fact we should be passing the last planet's orbit around the sun pretty soon if I'm not mistaken."_

Sam's eyebrows rose at his astonishing calculation. She'd heard that Sheppard was remarkably quick at solving distance vs. speed equations, but Sam had always thought Rodney was just trying to make him look dumber than people claimed he was. Guess he really was in MENSA. _"Uhh… yeah… Damn, How the hell do you do that?"_

John chuckled, and shrugged, he winced at his shoulder a bit and shook his head with an idle smile. _"Beats me… I just… get it. I mean it's just numbers right? Like… okay. The Jumper's velocity is your foot." _He held up her foot with one hand and wiggled her toes with his finger tips. _"With these little piggies being inertia, lack of atmosphere, rotational tumble… the time we shut the engines off …"_ He held the pinky toe separately _"This little guy's the estimated inertia lost when the front section's atmosphere vented."_

Sam was awestruck, was this really happening? Was John using her foot like an Abacus!?With the same hand, he wrapped his fingers around the arch of her heel and held it there._ "Time is my hand…"_ His smile was evilly devious. _"…and when you put them together."_ John squeezed her foot gently, eliciting a gasp of pleasure from Sam. He motioned to her reaction and deadpanned. _"… Eureka… distance."_

Sam was amazed. She could do the math in her head of course, but more than likely she'd have to write something down just to double check it. How the hell did John put it together so succinctly and quickly in his head? What especially dumbfounded her was that he'd taken into account variables… _and where the hell did he get the sudden idea to use her foot in an equation?!_ _"That's got to be the best equation I've EVER heard."_ She wiggled her toes and softly smacked his hand away with her foot, now more concerned meeting his attack then the slight pain in her foot. _"…and the first time I've FELT an equation." _Sam laughed, god this man could get under her skin and she was NOT going to be defeated by him! _"You must have a graphing calculator implanted into your head… or you were a scientist in a former life."_

John chuckled, yawned and leaned his head back on the bench. _"Well… not to brag or anything, numbers are usually pretty easy, dealing with McKay day in day out? That's hard."_

Sam scoffed in amusement, and felt the yawn coming. Damn they really were contagious! _"I can imagine."_ Her sunny smile dropped a bit. It seemed such a waste for a mathematical prodigy like John to have joined the Air Force… but then again, he did great things here as well. _"Ever wonder what life woulda been like if you'd become a scientist or math guru?"_

John lost a bit of his smile too, and shook his head uncertainly. _"Thought about it… sure sometimes… usually when I'm about to stuff a lemon into McKay's throat to quiet him." _His grin grew, then faded. _"but for real…? Nah. I'm doing what I love."_

Sam liked that… a lot. _"Same here.."_ So many of her old university friends had gotten jobs in the private sector of physics and other advanced maths and every once in awhile she got an e-mail with a 'great job offer'. But she never really regretted making her decision to join the Air Force or the Stargate Program. In fact the only thing she regretted… _"So you don't miss…" _She made air quotes with her hands. _"regular life?"_

John didn't hesitate and shook his head almost eagerly _"Not for a second. Ever since I put on the uniform I've felt… right… like it was supposed to be this way. I can't imagine doing something simple back on Earth anymore. Atlantis is my home now."_

Sam smiled knowingly, she'd gotten a lot of that vibe from him. In fact the last time he'd gone to Earth he'd lost one of the last ties he had there. Sam wanted to ask him something… something that she really shouldn't. But this man seemed so much like her in so many ways. But different in all the right ones too. Sam had to know… but not now. _"You know… I understand."_ Since the topic was now open, and he seemed a bit more open to talking about himself. Sam decided to see if she could unravel another layer of his mysterious aura. _"Since you bring it up… How'd things go back on Earth?" _Sam used her most diplomatic voice. Not amused, not curious, but caring, and hoping that he'd trust her enough to tell, she masked whatever emotion she might show by taking a sip from her canteen.

John sat silently for a few moments, seemingly deciding whether to answer or not. He drew in a long deep breath before sighing. _"Well… to be honest… once the Replicator was dealt with…"_ He stopped for a moment, ostensibly unsure of whether or not he would continue.

Sam felt maybe she'd touched a nerve, and held her hand up. _"You know what? It's okay John… you don't…"_

John raised his head and shook his hand. _"No no no… it's not that… god you think I'd have your bare foot in my lap if I didn't trust you?"_ He took her foot, and gave it another soothing squeeze.

Sam had to struggle not to laugh at the ridiculous way of showing his trust, but this time not because she wanted to prevent embarrassing herself, but rather to keep from embarrassing him. She really wanted to know how it had gone for him back on Earth. _"That's… I appreciate that John…I trust you too. So what happened?"_

John took a breath and nodded. _"Yeah… well… I got a lot done I should have done before I came here… my brother thought I just went to contest the will."_

Sam winced, to be accused of that would definitely offend her. _"Ohh.. that's…wow… so you guys didn't get along?"_

"_It wasn't Dave that was the problem."_ John sighed, why was he telling Sam this? Maybe because he really did trust her? Maybe because she actually showed genuine concern and care? Whatever it was, this was stuff even Ronon didn't see. Maybe the cabin fever was getting to him… maybe he did want someone to talk to who wouldn't judge him. _"A lot of people think being born into money is luxury… and I guess for some people it might be."_

Sam understood. _"But not you."_

"_Yeah… hell my dad had my whole life planned out when I was 14… Had I followed it I'd be strutting around in an Armani Suit trying to get my hair to stay flat."_

It was too much, and Sam couldn't help but laugh. Seeing him roll his eyes but a wide grin she figured a little teasing was okay. _"You'd look so good in a suit, but flat hair? Please. The hair IS you."_

John shifted in his seat and chuckled as he ran his hand through his hair. His tone was an exaggerated sarcasm. _"Great. Thanks…" _He started to laugh at himself and pointed to the creature he called his hair. _ "You know I don't even comb this anymore? I just put some conditioner in and it automatically ends up like this."_

Sam snickered and played with the end of her pony tail. _"Lucky you. I wish my hair did the same." _She realized they were going off topic, and tried to steer the conversation back. _"So you had your life planned out at 14…"_

John snorted, then sighed. _"Yeah… once I finished high school Dad got me admittance into Harvard no questions asked… Last time I spoke to him while living under his roof I told him to piss off… I ended up going to Stanford, Scholarship."_

Sam kept quiet. John had just told her something incredibly personal. Something that she didn't think anyone but his family… his blood family knew. _"I'm sorry John… I shouldn't pry." _Sam felt so bad for goading him into telling her this. It was heartbreaking to think that John never had a chance to reconcile with his father.

Sam knew what it was like to have a hard time with one's father… but she'd had the good fortune to have the chance to resolve her issues with her family before he died.

John sniffed once, the most emotion she'd ever seen from him ever. He whispered softly. _"It's okay Sam… I'm… I'm over it. I still loved him regardless and well… I try and focus on all the good times we had before and even after… I patched things up with Dave before i came back and well… things are okay with us now." _

Sam couldn't ask him anymore. God why did she get him to talk about this? Sam _had_ to set things right. _"I know how you feel John…"_

John gave her a millisecond of scorn, but then realized she was being serious. His thoughts raced, and he realized that Sam had been with the Stargate program since it's inception… so she'd been mostly incommunicado with her family for more than twice as long as he… at least in a forced seclusion.

John shifted in his seat and leaned closer. _"You know… I think you do. Isn't your dad Major General Jacob Carter? I worked under him back in the 90s… Last I heard he was working some deep space telemetry doodad."_

Sam nodded and snorted. _"Ha, Deep Space Telemetry is code for Stargate Ops… And we haven't called him General in a looong time…"_

John furrowed his brow. _"We?"_

Sam smiled, but she felt the moisture building up in her eyes. It still hurt to think of the last words he'd given her. _"It was a long time ago, in our third year of Stargate Operations… He… He was dying. Lymphoma. No treatment… he only had a few months left." _Sam remembered talking with him, how he instantly knew she was doing some highly classified project. _"I hadn't talked to him in awhile then… I had a lot of… well you know how military families are… At the time, the Tok'Ra were looking for someone to be a host to one of their symbiotes. They offered it to my dad and he accepted… it saved his life."_

John was a little uneasy_ "So he had one of those snakes in his head?"_

Sam shrugged, it didn't matter to her anymore but she could understand how John would be a little apprehensive about it especially after what happened with Colonel Caldwell. _"Well… yeah… but it wasn't a Goa'uld. The Tok'Ra are different… it's a true symbiosis and each one of them had equal control."_

John still wasn't completely convinced, but he wasn't about to debate it. _"Sorry if I'm still a little uneasy about that… I'm guessing it did heal him though."_

Sam nodded, she loved being able to work with Jacob for those 5 years. Even though it wasn't often, it was quite literally a gift of time that she wouldn't have had otherwise. _"Yeah it did. He joined the Tok'Ra and was a sort of liaison for us and helped us with our captured technologies. I even convinced him to go patch things up with my brother before…"_

John drew in a breath and bit his lips. Sam knew what it was like to have problems with siblings as well… and what about her mom? John understood speech patterns enough to know it must have been bad… so he didn't ask. _"What happened to him?"_

Sam sniffed softly. John had trusted her with something incredibly private and personal. It was only fair to do the same to him. _"He umm… he died a few years ago. When the Replicators from the Ida galaxy invaded the Milky Way, he helped us modify an ancient weapon to destroy them… his symbiote, Selmak, was dying and he pushed himself too far for another symbiote to help…"_ Her eyes were moist now, sparkling in the flashlight lit jumper.

John saw it instantly and felt awful. _"Oh man… I'm sorry Sam… I…"_

This time it was Sam shaking her head. John had trusted her, she was going to trust him. _"It's okay John. He died saving the whole galaxy… I don't think he would have wanted it any other way. I made my peace with him… and I know I'm really lucky for having had that chance."_ Now Sam felt even worse, she had had the chance to see her father while he was still alive, John didn't.

"_I can imagine…"_ John saw her regret at what she was saying and whispered reassuringly. _ "Hey... Don't umm… don't feel bad that I didn't get that chance Sam… My brother told me a lot about what my dad said to him before…" _John sighed, still feeling regret over what had happened. _"… My dad felt bad. Really bad over what happened between us. I might not have been able to talk to him… but I know he was proud of me." _John thought about the very long talk he'd had with Dave, a talk he should have had a long time ago.

Sam sniffled again, and reaching out took his hand in a sudden unexpected move. _"I'm glad to hear that… He's got a lot to be proud about."_

John felt the edges of his lips creep up, and the soft squeeze of Sam's hand felt so reassuring. Was this right? Should he be feeling this way? John had just been playing around with her earlier… something he assumed Sam caught onto since she played back just as hard. Did the care and concern he saw from her come from somewhere else? Was his own concern and sincerity something else as well? John stopped everything in his mind and examined the situation… pragmatism served him well before, and now seemed a good candidate.

Sam was attractive… Very much so John thought; and definitely more than just a mindless conversation… The last day had been lesson after lesson in small and medium talk with copious amounts of harmless... well that was just it wasn't it? Was it just harmless flirting?

They'd only just begun to break into deeper subjects and well… that was something John didn't often do. Even with Teyla, he'd never found any need or even desire to share his innermost thoughts.

Maybe that was one of the reasons John liked Teyla… things were simple, there was no need to talk about his life on Earth simply because she didn't know enough about it. John liked the idea of leaving everything behind… all the mistakes he'd made, the feeling of not belonging…

He was an outcast in the Milky Way… but he was a champion in Pegasus.

There really was only one… maybe 2 things missing. And he had found he could live without them if it came to it. John had been forced to, not only because of his own sense of honor and duty… but now because the opportunity had gone past.

Only too late did he realize that he loved Elizabeth. Before Asuras… hell before he saw her for the last time in Oberoth's clutches, he assumed he only cared very deeply about her well being. But isn't that a form of love in itself?

12 seconds. The longest and hardest 12 seconds of his life. John stood there with Ronon, watching as Elizabeth screamed at him to go. He could still feel the plasma shots streaking past, highlighting that moment of his life. 20 years of being a career soldier won that day, and he'd survived where the woman he loved had died.

John was always very objective. He looked at the past 5 years and saw the chances for personal happiness that he had let pass as he was more concerned with the well being of his new found family.

Teyla… right from the start he'd felt a connection with her. Being able to start completely fresh, not having to be concerned with any of the idiotic demands of Earth women… it was a pure and simple friendship that he'd never pursued further because… well he didn't really have an answer. In a way, she'd become the sister he never had… and it was too late for anything now, she'd made her choice to stick with Kanaan and John was not going to break her happiness for his own. John cared about her too much to ever even consider it, and even now, months after the Athosians disappearance, he still vowed to help her find them. Teyla was his sister… and in the foreseeable future nothing more.

Elizabeth… maybe not as clear cut as Teyla, but there was obvious chemistry. On more than one occasion his friends had teased him about the obvious sparks between them. Elizabeth was different as well, a completely different complement to his own military style. John missed the talks, he missed walking into her office and seeing her welcome smile to his interruption. John even missed arguing with her. Just hearing her diplomatically perfect voice, the sheer control she had over every physically outward appearance, and even more, the sheer self-control when it came to her actions. It was the strangest thing… but John loved the fact that when Kolya had him as a prisoner, Elizabeth had followed his order to leave him behind. Some crazed mentality he had huh? Love a woman who's strong enough to leave you to die…

That was the only reason he hadn't stolen a jumper and gone back to Asuras for her. Because John felt it would be a betrayal to her to do exactly what he'd ordered her not to do.

And now? What was left? The other women in his life had all been… different. Chaya was an ascended ancient that gave him something special… something pure. But John couldn't be with her… he was needed here in Atlantis and she knew that.

Teer was… Maybe McKay was right about the Ancient women… but he'd turned down her offer as well. Lord knew what the other ascended Ancients would do if he joined them. Probably tie a leash on him and leave him to rot in Atlantis.

John wasn't even going to consider the Tower… that was just messed up beyond belief.

And that left… Larrin… the woman who kidnapped him, threatened to throw him out an airlock, tied him up and beat him several times without real cause… Needless to say, the attraction was purely physical… for now.

But… she had trusted him. Something not many people in his life had done. If it weren't for Larrin, the Replicators would still be around… still destroying the Galaxy. In the proverbial fate of the universe, it was fitting. The only woman who still trusted John was one who enjoyed flogging him.

Except for Sam… and up until today he'd never even considered anything beyond a childish fantasy.

"_You okay there John? You look like you're about to pass out."_

John considered the question. He _wasn't_ okay… but he _was_ about to pass out. _"Just tired… sore… I feel like joining you and eating a tub of ice cream in bed."_

Sam laughed as she shook her head idly. The very slight tinge of blushing in her cheeks and subsequent lack of any suggestive motions by John told her he'd seemingly missed the insinuation.

Ironically, Sam was thinking much of the same that John was, but with the addition of bitterness. Sam wasn't a bitter or contrite person, in fact she was thankful for the chances she had had being a part of the SGC.

What hurt and gave that sharp edge of harsh reality was that nothing ever worked out. _Ever. _

Sam could list the men she had contemplated a relationship with on both hands… and most were dead.

The Lunatic Fringe… god how she sometimes hated being attracted to it. It wasn't her fault! She wasn't to blame if the strongest… best… most worthy men needed to be a little insane.

Jack…. _Oh god Jack_… 8 years they worked together and it was inevitable… she loved him and there wasn't any other way to explain it. Jack was a drug to her… just being around the man made her high with delight. But the rules… and the duty… When she'd signed the agreement and swore on her honor to follow the rules, she'd never thought she could meet someone like Jack O'Neill…

It wasn't even worth it anymore to explain why she loved him… she just did. It was an addiction, she couldn't live without him… and because of the fate of this universe she couldn't live _with _him. It was the worst thing to have ever happened in her life, the way that things ended up piling up on her in one glorious year.

Sam had tried… _she'd tried so hard dammit!_ It was there… finally the chance to be with the man she loved… But life kicked the elation out from under her… Nevada…Washington... Colorado… Atlantis… it didn't matter. Jack would never leave his office, and Sam would never leave her post. Cruel fate decided that the two could never be in the same building. It had all become clear one day when sitting in a debriefing with General Landry… just after the Replicators were defeated. The SGC… Homeworld Security… Area 51… everything that dealt with alien technology or threats… it all fell under the IOA… they were both still military officers.

Instruction 36-2909… Professional and Unprofessional Relationships… That was the name of the piece of paper that haunted Sam's life. Article 5 was the one she'd come to abhor with a ferocity that few knew she had within her.

" …_**The custom against fraternization in the Air Force extends beyond organizational and chain of command lines. In short, it extends to all officer/enlisted relationships…" **_

Those 25 words had kept her back for more than a decade.

Sam couldn't be with Jack without breaking the rules… the rules she'd sworn by. Chain of command… organization… it didn't matter in this case. As long as they were both on active duty and serving… it wasn't legally right. And even if she did decided to break those rules, Earth was under the watchful and scrutinous eye of the IOA. She hated the IOA for that… the feeling of wafting on a cloud whenever Jack was near had become almost painful… the sheer bliss a searing agony…

Who was she kidding? Jack would never retire. He loved his planet… he loved his chosen family… and Jack loved her too much to do such a cruel thing. Sam knew in her heart she would never retire from this either… her life was exactly what she wanted… except…

None of the others mattered as much… none of the others hurt so deeply… but she had loved them nonetheless… J. Hanson… Martouf… Narim… Pete… _oh god… Pete… she'd hurt Jack so mortally with Pete…_ All she wanted was a taste… something to make her happy in the maelstrom of SGC life… and she almost made the biggest mistake of her life.

She knew how bad it must have hurt him… if it was enough to drive him to another woman…. Even for a short time… _CIA Agent Kerry Johnson!_ Bah! Probably Kerry with an I… bitch… whore… tramp… Stripper name….

Sam checked her sob… who was she kidding? Kerry had to have been a great woman for Jack to get involved with her… He never wanted to settle for anything but the best and Sam knew Kerry was a great woman. It hurt _so freaking much_ to listen to him be happy with another woman…

Her father's last words to her…. _"You can still be happy."_ haunted her to this day. And for a few brief moments… she was happy. Sitting there with Jack at his cabin… finally fishing with him… Only to have it all ripped away from her so soon. Almost as if it were just a fantasy.

When she'd gotten the order to come to Atlantis… it was a whirlwind of feelings. In a way it felt like running away. Just abandoning everything that she was trying to make work at…

Could she call Earth home anymore? Certainly she would fight for it, she would even die to protect it… but Atlantis was the same now… Sam realized that her home was with her family. The men and women she had grown so attached to that she couldn't find life without them bearable. Pegasus wasn't Earth… and Atlantis wasn't the SGC… things happened here that went by unchecked…

Atlantis… or rather the people there had become a new family, a family that was more tight knit than anything she had seen before. It had taken months to finally breach the layers of defense… but now as she sat here in a broken Jumper with her second in command giving her a foot rub… She realized she loved them all just as much.

"_I'd welcome the compa…"_

Her flirtive reply was cut out by the Tablet suddenly screeching. Both became fully alert and John crawled over. _"What is it?"_

Sam tapped a few controls, and brought up the alarm. What she saw made her eyes open wide. _"Oh Crap…" _She looked up at John. _"…sensors just picked up the last planet in the solar system… we're on a collision course."_

_-------------------------_

"_Lorne… what's the big deal? Like seriously. It's not like you work together."_

Major Lorne groaned softly. Had no one ever explained this to Ronon? Did his military not have rules for this sort of thing? _"That's not it Ronon… it has to do with what's possible, not what's actually happening."_

Ronon grumbled, and took a swig of his canteen. Daedalus was still a long ways away and the engineering detail had finally stopped working for the day. Lorne and he were sitting in the command tent… damn what was it Sheppard called it? _"shootin' the breeze"_? _"Like… I understand why people like… uhh… I dunno… you and that Vega chick could never get together. You work in the same place, you're in command, and you're supposed to make clear decisions."_

Lorne nodded, but then shook his head idly. _"That's a part of it yes… but even if I wasn't her direct command officer I can still influence what happens to her and her me. Like if I were to start dating someone back at the SGC on Earth, even though we're not in the same command or even the same galaxy we can still influence our decisions." _He began to use his hands while speaking, almost as if he were explaining it to a certain unruly marine Private.

Ronon still was unsure, and he leaned in closer. _"What about Sheppard and Weir? Is that why they never hooked up?"_

Lorne shirked back, Wow… did Ronon really just ask that? _"Uhh.. well… I can't say for sure man… You'd have to ask Colonel Sheppard about that and I honestly wouldn't. But even they weren't __**technically**__ allowed because in this case Elizabeth would have been considered a representative of the IOA who can influence Military decisions. The rules are pretty damn clear and I'll admit, it's hard for people in the SGC who aren't married already."_

Ronon nodded, he'd hoped Lorne would be able to give him a straight answer but alas…_ "Lorne, I've been on Atlantis for almost 3 years. A lot of your younger guys are getting' antsy and they're taking it out on each other in the sparring room. You guys don't really have much…" _Ronon searched for a proper word. _"…options. So I'm just trying to understand why the IOA dickheads would make such built in frustration."_

Lorne snorted, and shook his head as he looked up to the sky _"Save me Space Pope…"_ He looked back to Ronon and sighed, These kinds of conversations were always tough, and Ronon was apparently very interested. _"…Part of the job Ronon… part of the job." _He got a more serious expression on his face. _"But even if it weren't… Lieutenant Novak isn't exactly what I'm looking for."_

Ronon grunted. _"So what? You're just gonna stay single till you leave the military? Kinda unfair… kinda really unfair."_

Lorne bit his lip. It had been like that since day one with the SGC and most of the older guys had begun to resent it. A lot of them had been testing the waters with the civilians on Atlantis but even that was somewhat frowned upon. Certainly some of the younger marines were antsy as Ronon had mentioned… and Lorne knew that it wasn't easy to be so far from home… far from anything that even resembled Earth. _"It's… complicated. But lemme put it to you this way. You see when McKay looks at Carter?" _Ronon nodded. _"Yeah, that's what I see when Novak looks at me."_

Ronon laughed at the comparison and then stretched his arms as he yawned. The day was getting really late, and he needed to be frosty for the possible action tomorrow. _"I'm going to bed… see ya tomorrow."_

Lorne nodded and leaned back in his chair. _"Sleep tight." _ He sighed again as Ronon left the command tent, and pondered Ronon's words. _'unfair'_

Yeah… sometimes life really was unfair.

--------------------------------------

A/N2: People seem to have selective memory when it comes to Jack and Sam. Even though they're not in the same command structure, they're still under the blanket organization of the IOA, _and_ they're both still military officers. only way is for Jack to completely disassociate from SGC, Homeworld Security, and basically the entire Military. Can't dodge the rules alas… (Yes yes… I know it's just TV. I just find all the schmoopy 'Aww… it's true love at last' annoying. Just like a certain book/movie everyone around me loves that has the literary value of a wet leek! YOU know the one I'm talking about! Dazzle my ass!)

I'd also like to point out that I have the actual Air Force rules on Fraternization, and to paraphrase into a single sentence. "No Air Force Officer can have an Unprofessional Relationship with anyone that can influence Military command Decisions."

So as sad (and frustrating) as it is for me to say it, I really see only one option for John now that Teyla's got Kananananan, and she likes tying him up and flogging him. Although given how often Shep gets whumped, perhaps he enjoys it. :P

Now don't get me wrong. I LIKE Jack/Sam… I just find John/Sam to be a better fit, and there's OODLES of Jack/Sam out there already so why am I going to add to an already vast cornucopia of flavors of Jack/Sam (or Jam/Sack) when most don't even get vanilla right? Same with Shweir/Sheyla.

So actually… wouldn't Sam/John be… Jomantha? Shepter? Samperd? _Sporty_?

*Ducks and Cowers under desk!*


	9. Excessive Depths

_**Chapter 8 – Excessive Depths**_

_--------------------------------_

_**Major Evan Lorne:**__ "I don't know whether to kill you guys or kiss you."_

_**Captain Alicia Vega: **__"Begging your pardon sir, But you can't kiss me, and I'm pretty sure you can't kill Ronon. So unless you wanna try and spar me and kiss him, you might just wanna be grateful."_

_**Specialist Ronon Dex:**__ "Uhh… Please don't kiss me. But I can ref your fight if you want."_

_**Major Evan Lorne:**__ *Facepalm*_

_--------------------------------_

_A/N: This chapter has two of my favorite SGA jokes. Also posted early as i'm not gonna be home tomorrow.  
_

_-------------------------------_

"_Are you serious? Isn't space supposed to be this vast huge empty nothingness where a collision happening is mathematically insignificant?!" _Sam looked up at John's bewildered expression and her face said it all."_Oh great." _John looked up to the ceiling in rage. _"Thanks a lot Murphy! What the hell did we ever do to you!?" _Sam smirked involuntarily, and worked quickly trying to figure out what to do._ "…any chance of getting control back?"_

Sam tapped on the controls and then shook her head. _"Not the mental or even automatic controls… we can turn the engines on, but only manually with no control."_

John grumbled as he peered over her shoulder. _"So just an on and off switch?"_

Sam nodded noticing his hands on her shoulders. _'Now now Carter... Not Now.... Focus!' "Yeah, uhh... I might be able to program some kind of maneuvering command to get us out of the way or at least in orbit, but we need to manually divert power to each engine."_

John blinked and shook his head idly. _"So like a tank drive?"_

Sam shrugged, and felt his hand squeeze her shoulders softly. It was surprisingly reassuring… if a bit forward. _"You could call it that. We're already in a high orbit so the most we could do is get into a low to medium orbit... a thousand kilometers maybe if we hurry."_

John let her go and took a deep breath in. _"What do you want me to do?"_

Sam smiled, John was ready for anything. _"Help me up to the bench… then get on the other side. We're gonna have to manually turn on each engine to make course corrections."_

John leaned over and helped her up. Somewhere in the back of his mind John was thinking about Sam complaining that he was helping her around even though she could walk, but seeing Sam stuff her unsocked foot into her boot, realized she just wanted a hand. John set her down on the bench in front of the open panel and moved to the other one. _"Alright… I'm gonna take a wild stab here, but just reconnect these plugs we pulled?"_

Sam shrugged and nodded. _"Yeah, but on the hub where all the conduits connect you need to shut off the flow before you can hook it in. That's the switch we'll be using to turn the engines on and off."_ She quickly tapped on the tablet, rushing through her calculations.

John began to peruse through the mess of conduit and wires, eventually finding the hub Sam mentioned. _"Alright… where's the switch I need to turn?"_

Sam grunted, as if it were that simple. _"There are three small control crystals connecting each conduit. You need to take the one in the middle out to sever the power. Once you've done that, plug the conduit back into the engine."_

John did as he was told, and looked at the crystal in his hand. _"Alright… how much time do we…"_

Sam interrupted, hoping he understood the urgency. _"Not much. Hurry."_

No more words. John quickly picked up the loose conduit and jimmied it back onto the port where it had once been attached. _"Alright… ready."_

Sam had already finished her side, and taking a look at her calculations, breathed trying to keep calm, the planet wasn't a small earth sized planet, closer to Saturn's size as it even had a ring. The situation was a lot worse than she was making it seem but it didn't seem prudent to make John anymore anxious. _"Okay… put the crystal back in for one second, that'll give us a slow yaw to the right."_

John nodded, and put the crystal up to the hub; he turned back and sighed as he nodded. _"Here goes… one second."_

Sam nodded back and waited. John inserted the crystal and the distinct humming of the engines came on, and then shut off as he pulled the crystal out. _"Now?"_

Sam held one hand up silencing him, and then inserted her own crystal a few seconds later. Equaling the thrust, the ship was now stabilized with it's right side facing the planet. Sam quickly made a few more checks then looked to John. _"Ok… on my mark hook it up."_

"_For how long?" _Sam's face showed the hesitation and almost bemusement at his query. _"Never mind…"_

Sam closed her eyes and took a moment to prepare. _"1… 2… 3… Mark!"_

Both plugged in the crystals, and the sound of the engines humming as they came to life was quite reassuring. John looked to Sam who now used her hands to get back to her tablet and look at the information. _"It… it's working! The ship should pull into a low medium orbit and after a few spins we'll break free."_

John furrowed his brow. _"A few spins?" _He didn't finish what he realized. They'd been on the edge of certain gravity related doom. It took a few moments for him to accept it, but he realized he would have done the same to keep the other calm. _"But we're okay now… right?"_

Sam nodded with a certain sign of relief. _"Yeah… yeah we're okay… we might bump into some ice formations from the ring but the Jumper's deflector shield should prevent any real damage… that was close." _She slid down the bench again, and set her tablet on the floor. _"You know… back in the day… I used to hate Goa'uld cargo ships… they were maybe 3 or 4 times bigger than this…"_

John moved over and helped her back down to her position on the floor where tactical vests and spare uniforms made a bed of sorts. He wasn't going to push her to tell him _exactly_ how close they'd come. _"Guess you'd kill for one now."_

Sam wrapped her arm around his neck and hung on as he set her down. _"Oh yeah."_

They laughed softly and once they were back down on the floor, John let go to head back to his seat. He was a little surprised to feel Sam's hands hold him down. _"Hmm? Something wrong?"_

Sam shook her head and sighed. _"No… umm… can you… well…" _Why was Sam having so much trouble asking him this? It wasn't a hard or even forward question. Maybe it was because asking him to sleep next to her was for her own comfort this time, not because they were about to freeze.

John understood what she wanted and nodded softly giving her an easy out. _"Ah… it is still kinda chilly isn't it?"_

Sam scoffed softly and pulled him closer. _"Yeah and these TAC vests don't make good pillows."_

John had a reply, but kept it to himself as he pulled the blanket up and wrapped an arm around Sam. _"Great… 20 years of military combat training and experience, untold millions spent turning me into a lethal weapon… and all I'm good for is my genes and pretending to be a mattress?"_

Sam knew he was joking, and snickered as she dropped her head on his shoulder. It had been awhile since she could get close to someone like this. Sam knew this was bending the rules right now, but after 11 years of constantly following the rules… she felt a little flexibility wasn't remiss. _"But you're so good at it… besides; if you're my mattress doesn't that mean I'm your blanket?"_

John's facial features became an exaggerated look of awareness. _"Well there is that." _He snickered as he pulled Sam into a tighter cuddle like they were in before.

Sam wasn't expecting him to pull her in so close and reacted. _"Hey! What are you…?"_

John grunted softly. _"Relax. Last night you kept kicking me until you cuddled up. I'm not going through that torture again." _He understood where Sam was coming from. They'd pushed the regs hard on him as well and he didn't doubt that was going through her mind as well.

Sam relented and shifted around getting comfortable. _"Alright… but I do NOT have jimmy legs."_

John snickered and gave her a playful shove even as she hugged him now. _"Yeah… you do. But that's ok. They tell me I snore. Now go to sleep." _

Forgoing any argument, John took her head in one hand and muffled her quarrel with his shoulder. Comfortable as Sam was, she quickly forgot about it and relaxed. John cradled her in his arms and stopped moving, becoming the perfect pillow and mattress that Sam needed right now.

It wasn't long before both fell right asleep in orbit of the gas giant.

----------------------------------

"_Hold the fort down Sergeant, any luck and we'll be back soon."_

Stackhouse nodded and saluted. _"Good luck sir."_

Lorne stood with AR-2 and 3 as well as Ronon and Rodney in the flat field. He took a deep breath in of the planet's air, and in a brilliant flash of light appeared on the Cargo Deck of the Daedalus.

Ronon noted Lorne's intense sigh of relief as he looked around and didn't see his predator. The smile creasing his face as Major Kevin Marks arrived to take control of the supply chain was comically sincere. _"Evening Major Glad to have you aboard."_

Lorne nodded and sighed. _"Glad to be here Major… uhh…" _Lorne pointed to some crates where AR-3 was busy organizing. _"Those are ours. But the rest is resupply for Daedalus. Figured you guys would like that."_

Major Marks snorted in glee. _"Awesome. I'm getting tired of three bean salad. Well Major. Thanks for the resupply, and our marines are awaiting you in Conference Room B." _

Lorne smiled and nodded. _"Thank you Major… Captain Vega?"_

Alicia stepped forward and saluted respectfully. _"Yes sir?"_

Lorne motioned with his head. _"Briefing time. I want you there so you can brief your team."_

Alicia nodded and stepped into line. _"Yes sir."_

Ronon held back his smirk. Lorne obviously enjoyed being in command but he could see in the man's eyes the topic they spoke of the night previous. Being Military meant sacrifice… but sometimes it just got to be too much.

The walk to the conference room was speedy, yet Lorne always peeked around corners, hid when he heard a nasally voice, and was generally on high alert throughout the whole trip. Lorne's three companions all gave each other bemused looks, thoroughly enjoying the Major's discomfort.

They had finally made it to the conference room, and Major Lorne breathed a sigh of relief. Only Ronon knew why, but even Captain Vega and Rodney stifled a laugh as the door opened before Major Lorne's eyes even as he reached for the handle, and an almost disturbingly blonde blur came rushing out. _"Major Lorne!"_

Lorne stood no chance. Lindsay Novak must have been a hunter or some kind of ambush artist in a previous life as he had no choice but to stand there and accept the fact that Lieutenant Lindsey Novak, chief engineer of the Daedalus Battle Cruiser, was squeezing the life out of him in some strange yet oh-so-cute embrace. _"Hello Lieutenant… This is Conference room B right? They didn't switch it on me did they?"_

Novak completely missed the sarcasm and half rebuke and instead smiled and shook her head. _"Oh no no no… Hahaha you're so funny all the time."_ Captain Vega snorted in her throat and Ronon gave her a gentle tap with the back of his hand, but the hint of a smile on his own mouth told her it was perfectly alright to be amused at Novak's cheerful demeanor. _"This is Conference Room B! We've been waiting for you! I'm here to give you technical support on standard Wraith Hive Designs!"_

Lorne visibly flinched, and both Vega and Ronon had to turn away in horrific delight. _"Guh… Seriously?" _He looked inside and saw 6 Marines, each also struggling not to laugh.

Rodney held nothing back and laughed mercilessly _"What?! Ha ha ha! This should be good for a larf." _

Lorne turned his head and gave Rodney a death glare, but in the bear hug and then hand clasp Lindsay gave him as she tugged Lorne in like a disinterested mule, Rodney felt little if any threat.

The Marines were well trained Lorne noted, only the very edges of their lips were crested and their eyes were the only real indication of the delight they were taking at seeing the Air Force Officer getting pampered against his will. Lindsay sat down next to Lorne at the front while Rodney stood off to the side. Captain Vega and Ronon also stood, probably planning an escape.

Lorne looked to the marines and decided to make this the shortest briefing in his history. _"Alright Marines, here's the short and sweet version…" _

Ronon leaned over to Alicia and whispered. _"He's already got short and sweet on him." _Alicia stifled a hard snort of derisive laughter in her throat at Ronon's comment. The Satedan had been hanging around Sheppard all too much.

Lorne began to quiver ever so slightly at the ridiculous situation. _"Colonel's Carter and Sheppard are trapped on the planet we're heading to. We're assuming they've left orbit in an attempt to hide from the Wraith." _He got up and pointed it out on the map behind him much as he did before in the Atlantis Conference Room._ "As far as we know there will be a fully armed and loaded Hive when we get there."_ He motioned to Lindsay who tapped a few controls and the display showed a 3d representation of a Hive.

"_There you go Major!"_

Lorne shuddered at the cheerful voice and continued quickly._ "Our mission is two fold, Daedalus will take out their hyperdrive and blow a hole for us to get in, Captain Vega and I will lead our teams to infiltrate the Hive and take out key systems including the jamming device impeding our beaming technology."_

Rodney interjected, feeling the need to show his leadership and superiority to marine grunts._ "We've also had reports from Atlantis that the gate on the planet is currently under heavy guard. So your job will be to paradrop into the forest around the gate under 302 cover and retake the gate. Your Jumper has been fitted with equipment to reorient the gate so we can bring in heavy supplies directly from Atlantis. You yourselves won't actually have to use any of that equipment so you can concentrate on shooting and falling through the skies which I'm guessing is what you're best at."_

The Marines suddenly got very interested. Very rarely did the get the chance to put their airborne training to use. _"Permission to speak freely sir?"_

Before Lorne could reply, McKay answered. _"What? Speak freely? This isn't prison!"_

Lorne rolled his eyes and swatted McKay away from the table like an annoying fly. _"Go ahead Corporal. Speak your mind."_

The Lance Corporal leaned forward and kept his voice calm. _"With all due respect sir, Why paradrop? Can't we use a cloaked Jumper to land?"_

Again, Rodney interrupted. _"What? Scared of parachutes? I don't blame you."_

The Lance Corporal narrowed his eyes, and Lorne knew if he didn't take control of the situation, Rodney was likely going to end up upside down in a spacesuit stuck in a toilet. As funny as that would be, Sheppard would ream the hell out of Lorne for allowing that to happen… without the Colonel there to watch of course. _"Enough! Dr McKay. Could you please go and ensure you've gotten all your gear together for the insertion into the hive?" _

Rodney could tell the Lance Corporal was getting ready to go high school bully on him and quickly decided to make a tactical retreat. _"Uhh Yeah! Yeah I'll go make sure that's all… yeah!"_

Ronon rolled his eyes as Rodney scampered off quickly, and decided that the next time these particular marines wanted sparring training, he'd train the _hell_ out of them. Lorne sighed now that part of his stress factors was gone, but quickly bristled as he felt Novak's breath go over his hand on the table. _How the hell did she manage that?!_ _"Alright… now that he's gone…" _Thank god _ "…Yes, the reason you're going in paradrop is it's likely the Wraith have set up some infrastructure in the area and the closest place we would be able to set you down safely is about 10 clicks away from the gate which would take too long."_ He sat down and cracked his knuckles as he flexed his fists. _"However… if the Wraith are _not_ around the gate in force. You'll be joining us in attacking the Hive."_

Ronon decided that the poor Major had had enough humiliation for one day, and interjected with his powerful voice. _"Because I don't want to haul your asses out of that hive, Lieutenant Novak is gonna give you the specs on Wraith Hives. Any luck and you might actually walk out instead of getting dragged out."_

Alicia felt bad for Lorne too and decided to step in as well. _"If that happens, you'll be taking your orders from Major Lorne, Specialist Ronon, or myself."_

Ronon growled and flexed his arms involuntarily. _"Here's my orders. If it ain't human… Kill it."_

They both looked to Lorne expectantly, and the Major instantly caught onto the escape route with all his strength like a buoy in a storm. _"Yes! Yes Lieutenant Novak will be giving you the specs!"_

Novak was caught off guard, and screwed her face as she thought about it. _"I will?" _She looked to Lorne who gave her an exasperated nod. Novak blustered for a moment, but then smiled and nodded at the Marines. _"Uhh Yeah! Yeah I will!" _

Lorne checked his huge sigh of relief, and tried to keep the glee out of his voice. _"If you have any questions, feel free to inquire with myself or Captain Vega!" _He saluted and began his retreat. Military Officers didn't surrender, but tactical retreat for regrouping and counterattack was more than acceptable. Ronon and Alicia kept behind him giving him cover even as Lindsay shrugged and began to try and corral the Marines into listening.

Ronon closed the door behind him and chuckled as Lorne leaned on the wall and let his head drift back so he stared at the ceiling. _"I don't know whether to kill you guys or kiss you."_

Alicia snickered and tried to sound respectful. _"Begging your pardon sir, But you can't kiss me, and I'm pretty sure you can't kill Ronon. So unless you wanna try and spar me and kiss him, you might just wanna be grateful."_

Lorne cracked and cackled despite himself. Ronon deadpanned. _"Uhh… Please don't kiss me. But I can ref your fight if you want."_

The only way to describe Lorne's mental state as he palmed his face was the excessive use of pejoratives.

------------------------------------

Sam woke up, or rather she gained enough consciousness that she couldn't really say she was sleeping anymore. Without moving too much she turned her head to look at her newfound mattress.

"_Do you ever stay asleep for more than 5 hours at a time?"_

It was a rhetorical question, at least to Sam. _"I could say the same about you."_

John smiled and cradled her in his strong arms; he hadn't been able to sleep much either given the fact that sleep and rest was all they'd been doing for the past day and a half. _"Well it's not like I have much room to do pushups here."_

He reached over to grab a canteen and offered it to her. Sam didn't move from her comfortable position on his shoulder and took a few sips. _"Well don't move… that's an order."_ Her voice was a little more irritable than she had wanted it, and she quickly bit her lips to keep from saying more.

John chuckled, seeing that Sam was in no mood to move around. _"Grouchy in the mornings are we?" _He pushed a few strands of hair off her face with the back of his hand, his finger tips caressed her face softly and John noticed her stiffen just a tad at his touch, then relax. _"Your head okay?"_

Sam shook her head and murmured softly. _"Mmm… Feels like a leprechaun is doing the river dance on the inside of my skull…"_

John chuckled and reached over to the medical bag. _"Well lets see what we should dope you up with this time eh?"_

Sam smiled, and stayed limp on his shoulder. _"Keller's gonna kill us when she finds out how much we took."_

John snorted sarcastically. _"The good thing is, we'll be so high we won't feel a thing!"_

A few laughs, a swallowed pill or two, and Sam sighed as she napped. Her feelings tugged at her and she couldn't resist not saying it anymore. _"You know John… as crazy as this sounds… I'm so glad it's you who's here. Anyone else and I think I'd be going insane."_

John chuckled and sighed as the Oxycodone flowed through his veins. His chest no longer hurt unless he touched it, and his shoulder seemed to have lost the inner flame. Now he had Samantha Carter napping on his shoulder and they were circling a gas giant on half a Jumper. Could life get any better? _"That's not crazy. Crazy is being stuck with McKay on a jumper. I'd probably have locked myself in the front by now if I was stuck with him."_

Sam snickered and cuddled into John some more. Her mind was made up. This jumper would have to qualify for a vacation, and being the object of John's concern, even if it only meant he was taking care of her while her head had an internal jackhammer, would have to do for stress relief. _"Ha… me too…" _She sighed and looked at his face again. _"John…?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Nothing leaves this jumper."_ Sam knew he would understand. They'd been flirting and teasing each other since day one months ago and it was always private, almost like an inside joke. Sam loved it when he teased her. It made her feel so much more comfortable, and made her trust her second in command implicitly as he wasn't going to be a simple yes man to her.

Neither ever said anything about their mutual clash of wit and sarcasm and Sam simply needed to know he understood that what happened in this jumper was meant to be private.

John chuckled and sighed. He'd been waiting for her to say it. _"It's our Vegas… how's that?"_

Sam nodded as she smiled and snickered. _"Perfect. All we're missing is Elvis…"_

"_I could always sing 'a little less conversation'…" _The look of terror in Sam's eyes was priceless. _"… But they tell me I sound like a strangled cat."_

"_Please don't… I have enough of a headache as it is."_

John _'aww'ed' _and stretched his neck. Despite getting a ton of sleep he was still tired from just not moving much. John's joints were sore and he honestly would kill for fish oil. He waited a few seconds in honest contemplation before getting serious. _"Sam…?"_

Sam murmured at the sound of her name. _"Yeah?"_

John had wanted to ask this since she'd allowed him to massage her foot despite it being treated already. He'd originally offered simply out of courtesy, but the way she'd accepted it… and now was obviously comfortable enough to be sleeping on his shoulder… It was a bit different than the Sam Carter he'd come to expect in previous months… in fact… it all seemed to stem from her injury in the Genii Mining Facility. _"Don't take this the wrong way… but where's all this coming from?"_

Sam noted he was being serious, and felt that if they were going to have a serious conversation, they needed to be eye to eye. She pushed herself off and situated herself on the floor next to him. _"Where's what coming from?"_

John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, how to broach the subject? _"Well… to be honest Sam... You've never really asked me about myself before… not that I mind it's just…"_

Sam smiled, but it was a meek smile. She knew what he meant and sighed heavily as she realized what he wanted to know. _"You wanna know why I'm suddenly so… comfortable?"_

John shrugged and tried to look sheepish. _"You could say that…"_ He quickly added _"not that I mind!_ _It's just… usually you don't talk about yourself either."_

"_Well… the easy answer is…"_ God what was the hard answer? That she'd ruined the best relationship she could have ever had because of _duty?_ Some vague sense of honor that being a part of the military stood for? Did giving one's all in the good fight mean giving up _all_ one's happiness? It certainly seemed that way right now. There was no way in hell Sam was going to tell John her life story and the easy answer would do… _for now._ _"… Let's just say I came out of the Mining Facility with more than just a broken leg." _She smiled sincerely, and prayed that John didn't push it any further.

John seemingly understood that she was reluctant to speak on the issue, and instead smirked. _"Ah… well… since you bring it up. Rodney told me something rather interesting when he got back. In fact he couldn't wait to tell me and I managed to convince him to keep a lid on it for your sake."_

Sam's eyes went wide. _'Oh crap… what'd Rodney say this time? Please not the… Dammit it's all bad!' "Uhh… okay… Thanks I think… but what'd he tell __**you**__?"_

John smiled, and it was his devious smile. Sam braced herself. _"Well… it seems oddly fitting right now, but he said that you weren't exactly all that fond of being trapped in the transporter with Dr Z a few months back during the Quarantine snafu."_

Sam began to imagine her return to Atlantis. She kept a lemon in her desk for the worst situations; in fact, she kept it right next to the Sig Sauer she kept in the drawer as it was potentially just as fatal. One of the two would be used before the week was over. _"Uhhh…"_

John chuckled, and then sighed as he rolled his eyes. _"Rodney's exact words were. 'I'm her favorite! She hates Zelenka after finally spending time alone with him!'" _He shook his head and was obviously displeased with Rodney's words. _"Far be it from me to judge you based on __**his**__ words. So feel free to clear the air."_

Sam grunted exasperatedly, Rodney was going to get a lemon enema by the end of the week. _"Well… between you and me… yeah… I didn't 'enjoy' being trapped with him." _Sam tried to keep it civil. But it was oh-so-hard to not disparage the man after what had happened. _"He was… creepy. Like I intimidated him which well… I guess I do."_ She snickered. _Very_ few men weren't intimidated by her, and those that weren't were either her friends or learned their lesson quickly.

John chuckled and nodded. _"Well you do give a sort of Xena the warrior genius vibe… Sorta like you could kick my ass but then you'll write an article on it."_

Sam snickered and held a karate chop to him. _"And don't you forget it."_

A few moments of laughter, and silence. John looked at Sam expectantly until she finally gave in. _"What!? Why are you staring at me!?"_

John nodded expectantly. _"Well is that it? Creepy? Rodney made it seem like Dr Z was the boogeyman or something."_

Sam groaned and palmed her face, she didn't like remembering the incident, let alone recounting it. _"Well he… John I need you to promise… no one outside this jumper can hear this, not even Rodney heard this okay?"_

John got a serious look on his face, almost comically, and nodded as he made a zipper motion across his mouth. _"Classified."_

Sam drew in a deep breath and sighed. Might as well tell _someone_. _"He…well he…"_ Try as she might, the memories were just too strong. Sam felt the teenage highchool girl within her break free._ "God he was almost repulsive! Like if he got too close I could catch his cooties."_ She shuddered, and snickered at her own inner 10 year old. John's outer boyish grin remained unchanged. _"I mean… he got all flustered when I took my BDU off cuz it was so hot and... ugh… I swear he kept staring at my boobs…" _Sam quickly changed rhetoric and became admiring._ "Don't get me wrong…he's probably one of the smartest people on the base…"_

John smiled calculatingly, and muttered softly. _"Not if you listen to Rodney."_

Sam ignored the interruption and muttered as she rubbed her thumping head. _"Besides that… but he's… awkward. He'd be cute if he weren't so… icky." _Sam recalled one thing in particular. _"Like… did you know he raises pigeons? Like actual 'croo-croo' pigeons!"_

John snorted at Sam's crowing like a pigeon and nodded idly. _"Oh yeah, he's shown them to me before. Actually I remember wishing I had one back then. Might not have had to climb the tower. Was fun though."_

Sam froze. The irony of what he was saying was so great she had to come to a mental halt. Her jaw dropped a bit and her left eye twitched involuntarily. _"Oh…My…God…"_

John furrowed his brow and leaned in. _"Uhhh… What?"_

Sam ignored his question and began to stifle the delayed laughter. _"Oh My god! I told him the exact same thing! He didn't get it! He thought I was hungry and wanted to eat it!!" _

Once the proverbial cat (or pigeon in this case) was out of the bag, John instantaneously cracked and howled in laughter. Sam joined and within seconds they were huffing and screaming in an odd mix of hilarity, and pain from their respective injuries. John held his chest and groaned even as he fell back onto the floor on his back laughing at such a ridiculous circumstance.

Sam wasn't doing much better. Her head lay sideways on the bench she was leaning against on top of a TAC vest, her ankle and bruised legs complaining as well. Her eyes had long ago watered from the uninhibited glee and her cheeks were soaked with tears of joy.

They calmed down a few minutes later, after several attempts that met with failure as soon as they saw the humor in the other's eyes. Each time they met each other's gaze it was just too much and more raucous laughter was had. Finally, each exhausted and still finding amusement in the joke, with barely enough breath to speak, John groaned in half pain/half mirth as he wiped away the tears and held his chest and side with his forearm. _"Oh man… that's classic… I'm never gonna forget that…"_

Sam bit back another bout of laughter, and then mumbled even as she still laughed. _"Neither am I… oh my god… I haven't laughed this hard in years."_

John felt another torrent of laughs break through, and then sighed as he realized that Sam wasn't the only one to have strange moments with Dr Zelenka. _"Yeah… oh man… you've got one thing to be glad about though."_

Sam panted, the laughter had exhausted her and her face had grown puffy from constant exertion in a smile. _"Oh? What could that possibly be?"_

John smirked deviously. It had been a strange morning that day. _"At least he didn't go into your office and tell you he liked your hair."_

Sam giggled back… and misinterpreted him completely. _"Oh god… So Rodney actually told you Radek said that to Jennifer?" _Sam shook her head absentmindedly_ "He really is a teenage girl."_

John's eyebrows rose in utter shock and awe. The closest words to representing his feelings were '_Terror'_ and '_Stunned'_. _"Uhh…"_

Sam snickered and sighed. _"Well to be fair… she thought he was kinda creepy too."_

John deadpanned it, the emotions were so strong that it had bottlenecked in his throat and the laughter simply wouldn't come out no matter how hard it pushed, Sam HAD to know first. _"Sam…"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Sam…"_ John's eyes were wide, his expression stunned. Sam suddenly began to realize what was about to happen and there wasn't a thing she could do about it._ "…Radek said that to me."_

A flash of silence, the sound of a million pins and bullet casings landing on the floor would have been muted by the strength of the silent realization. When the silence was over, were sound able to travel through space, anyone within several thousand kilometers would have turned and questioned.

"_The hell was that?"_

_-------------------------------------_

_A/N: In the commentary, I think it's Martin Wood who teases David Nyki for the hair comment. This is one of my oldest SGA jokes but I still crack up and howl at the very thought of it. _

_ATTN: I am in need of a Beta who has read my "Warped Mirror" story. Feel free to email me if you're interested :D_


	10. Realizations

_**Chapter 9 – Realizations**_

_----------------------------------_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "PX8-241. The day I finally got to knock Rodney into next week."_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter: **__"Say what? How did that happen?"_

**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:** _"We went to negotiate for some Naquadah, and Rodney was complaining that we couldn't take a Jumper, it was too hot, it was too sticky blah blah blah. He was just constantly whining and I kept telling him to shut it throughout the whole negotiations. Eventually we had to stay the night, and they offered me and McKay a single hut since they seemed to think we were… well…"_

**Colonel Samantha Carter: **_*Laugh*"Oh my god… you're not serious."_

**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:** _"Oh yes I am… they wouldn't believe us until I finally turned around and Mike Tyson'ed him over into a chicken coop."_

_---------------------------------_

_A/N: Avid readers will see that I've eliminated the 'Dream' sequences in favor of more witty and sarcastic banter (I.E. Flirting and building attraction). There's also a major change here at the end which I feel is sooo much more like the characters. I hope y'all enjoy it._

_Reply to Gabumon: I'll admit the last joke in the last chapter does go a little far. I extrapolated from the Commentary in Trio where I think it's Martin Wood who goes "Yeah I added that hair line because David Nyki came into my office and said the same *awkward silence*" _

_Amanda Tapping: "Did he really do that!?"_

_Martin Wood: "No, I just thought it was funny!"_

_Thankfully it's the most ridiculous thing in the story so I'm going to hazard a guess and say you'll like the rest :)_

_NOTE: I can't seem to remember Rodney ever getting fed on... but if i'm wrong (and i know plenty of Rodney lovers will know for a fact) please feel free to correct me.  
_

_--------------------------------_

Rodney was freaking out. No scratch that… what's a stronger word than panic? Whatever it was, Rodney was feeling it.

Who was he kidding? Invading a Wraith Hive was Sheppard's forte, not his! More than likely all these codes and algorithms would be useless anyways as once Daedalus pounded on the hive enough to take out their hyperdrive and weapons to rescue their people, all that would be left is… destroying or capturing the Hive... Crap.

Rodney was curious he had to admit. The chance to go over a Hive again, the complexity and almost spiderlike design of the Wraith computer network. Unlike the human networks on Atlantis, the Hive used a Peer to Peer interface, giving the craft almost complete redundancy.

The only issue was, the one computer console that mattered was usually the one right by the Queen, and untold dozens of mean looking and probably hungry Wraith Drones and Commanders.

Rodney had never been fed on (thank you sweet (insert deity)), and Rodney still prayed to (insert deity) every time even the capital letter W was used during a briefing for it never to happen. He'd watched as Sheppard had the life drained out of him by Todd at Kolya's whim and it had been the worst feeling in the world.

Not to say he hadn't come close, or even felt worse for Sheppard right now. But seeing as the spiky haired gel abusing son of Kirk was probably putting the moves on Sam simply because he's bored…!

"_Hey Doc, everything alright?"_

Rodney rolled his eyes, Only Lorne… _"Yes Major? I'm very busy, these types of interfaces are very delicate and need the finest care and attention to detail in order to insure that they'll connect properly."_

Lorne sat down, and looked over the heap of wires in front of Rodney. _"Doc… it looks like the back of my nieces PC."_

Rodney grunted and shuddered. _"Don't you have marines to go yell at? Or guns to pick apart? Why do you have to come and annoy me right when I'm trying to work out how I'm going to manage to control a Hive with computers when it's supposed to be a genetic interface!"_

Lorne shrugged, then scoffed. _"It's okay Doc… once we pick up Carter and Sheppard we'll figure something out."_

Rodney got the implication instantly, and for once felt righteously indignant. _"Ah ah ah! While Sam is quite possibly the smartest woman in 2 galaxies, she's had nowhere near the experience with Wraith Technology as I have. So while yes, in some, and I do stress that word, __**some**__ cases she does seem to possess more skill with certain things than I do on occasion. But in this case, I clearly and completely dominate the expertise here."_

Lorne looked over his shoulder, hoping that Novak wasn't after him. He replied absentmindedly. _"Yeah… good thing it's a hive so if it accidentally blows up no big loss…"_

Rodney growled, why did everybody have to bring up Project Arcturus when he was winning an argument? _"Oh please that was one time! Why would we want to keep a hive anyway?"_

Lorne shrugged, and then heard the distinctive patter of familiar feet. _"Beats me doc, Gotta go!"_

Rodney stopped his work for a moment and watched as Lorne literally jumped into the nearby crawlspace akin to a Jeffries Tube that was meant for technicians, and shimmied his way into the next room through it. It was so strange he didn't have anything to say except a muttering of confusion.

A few moments later, Lieutenant Novak arrived looking flustered. _"Dr McKay?"_

Rodney knew the Lieutenant, and found her reasonably adept at her job, as long as you didn't put any moments of certain doom around her. Other than that she was actually quite skilled. _"Yes Lieutenant? I'm rather busy trying to get this interface working so if you could hurry?"_

Lindsay smiled, and peeked over his shoulder. _"Ohh cool. Is that the new interface for wraith technology I heard you're working on?"_

Rodney realized that he was stuck with the Lieutenant now, and mentally groaned. His years of working alongside Sheppard and getting yelled at had taken it's toll and now he was prepared to waste the next 4 hours explaining the science behind using a jumper's mental interface, as well as samples of Teyla's DNA to try and MacGyver a workable steering wheel to Wraith Technology.

Oi… this was gonna take awhile. Goddamn Sheppard… 2 days alone with Sam… Rodney knew the universe had something against him.

----------------------------------------

"_Uhh let's see… funnest mission ever… Probably the space race."_

John furrowed his brow. _"Space Race? Like that crappy movie with the annoying Jamaican alien?"_

Sam scoffed, and lightly smacked John's arm as she napped on his shoulder. _"It wasn't that bad! Annie was cute. I'll give you Jar Jar though. I've never wanted to shoot an on-screen character so badly."_

John chuckled and sighed. _"Alright alright… your turn, go ahead." _Sam smiled, and thought about what to ask. They'd been playing some mutated form of Truth or Dare involving only truth, and for the time being it had been fun. Sam looked at him and smirked. _"Alright… what's your funnest mission?"_

With a wistful sigh, John replied with some nostalgia. _"PX8-241. The day I finally got to knock Rodney into next week."_

Sam raised both her eyebrows, and did a double take. _"Say what? How did that happen?"_

John snickered and stretched his shoulder as he spoke. The muscles were still sore, but for the most part it was feeling much better. _"We went to negotiate for some Naquadah, and Rodney was complaining that we couldn't take a Jumper, it was too hot, it was too sticky blah blah blah He was just constantly whining and I kept telling him to shut it throughout the whole negotiations. Eventually we had to stay the night, and they offered me and McKay a single hut since they seemed to think we were… well…"_

His suddenly proud yet sheepish behavior told Sam exactly what he was thinking. _"Oh my god… you're not serious."_

John rolled his eyes and nodded. _"Oh yes I am… they wouldn't believe us until I finally turned around and Mike Tyson'ed him over into a chicken coop."_

Sam huffed loudly as she laughed at the image. Rodney stumbling about in a chicken coop was too funny an image to not laugh. Although she couldn't help but wonder what was it in their manner of speaking that led the natives to think that of them. She knew they were close friends… _"Oh my… so you guys didn't include it in the mission report?"_

John shook his head as he grinned. _"He would have killed me. We agreed never to speak of it again but anytime we go to a similar village Ronon starts chuckling."_

Sam kept chuckling mindlessly, appreciative that John found her trustworthy enough to tell such a disturbingly funny story to. _"Actually… that's not the first time something like that has happened. A few years ago when we went to negotiate a peace treaty, an Elder pronounced that General O'Neill and Dr Jackson were the most bickering, yet obviously in love couple he'd ever seen."_

John stifled his snort, then shook as he held the laughter in. _"You can't be serious…" _He saw from Sam's expression that yes, she was serious. _"Oh god… how did that never get out?"_

Sam snickered and sighed as she rubbed her head against his uninjured shoulder. _"He swore us to secrecy, all of the original SG-1. But oh my god… even Teal'C was laughing."_

John chortled and leaned his head back on the bench of the Jumper. It wouldn't be too much longer for Daedalus to show up, and he was just waiting for that radio call. _"__**That**__ is something I have to see."_

Sam laughed some more, and then sighed. _"Alright… your turn… or does that count?"_

John smirked, he had a good question for her this time. _"Nope, not counting it, so here's mine… what's the craziest thing you've done when you... weren't yourself?"_

Sam groaned, one instance clearly and distinctly stood out to her. _"Oh god… don't make me answer this… please."_

John knew she was kidding… well half kidding. Her wording gave it away that she'd tell him if he asked. _"Ha ha ha, how bout we quid pro quo?"_

Sam grumbled, and relented. _"Oh alright… i swear to god i'll kill you... i'll just tear your ribcage apart and eat your heart if you even utter a word of what i'm about to tell you."_

John snickered and shook his head. _"Not a word. i'll take it to the grave."_

Sam sighed dejectedly and giggled to herself. "_God there's so many but umm… first year of stargate ops... SG-1 got infected with this virus that targeted histamines and well… I kinda.. maybe.." _Sam delayed it as long as possible, but seeing John's sly grin finally bit the bullet. _"…pinned then Colonel O'Neill to a bench in the locker room and…" _Sam didn't finish the sentence, instead giggling to herself in utter embarrassment. It had been an awkward few days especially since the locker room was full at the time. God she was going to _kill_ John if he ever spoke of this outside this Jumper.

John on the other hand visibly twitched, his mouth darting to the side and his eyelids quivering. _"Uhh… Damn…"_

Sam rolled her eyes and tried to play it off with an indignant voice. _"Well it was a looong time ago…! I only remember it because General O'Neill kept teasing me, even after he went all loopy too."_

"_No no… Sam…"_ John decided that while misery loved company, awkwardness did too. _"I uhh… I kinda did the same to Teyla… I got infected with a Wraith Retrovirus and well… I kicked her ass but then I kissed her… in much the same way."_

Sam stifled her laugh, but then cracked and started laughing as well. _"Oh my god.. .we're just a couple'a teenagers aren't we?"_

John had to laugh, both at himself and at Sam's reaction to such a ridiculous story. They laughed for a bit until John finally relaxed and motioned to her. _"Alright… your turn. Go ahead."_

Sam decided she was going to ask something a bit more serious, and turned to look him face to face. _"Alright… what mission would you say changed you the most?"_

John was a little stunned at the question, but wasn't going to ruin his newfound camaraderie with Sam by backing into his shell. _"Uhh… well… the mission report might have said some… but the planet Proculus."_

Sam instantly knew what planet he was speaking of. When she had read that John had had an encounter with an Ascended Ancient… she couldn't help but remember her own experience with Orlin. _"You mean the Ascended Ancient?"_

John stayed quiet, and simply nodded. He'd never really been able to explain exactly what it was like to share himself with Chaya.

Sam on the other hand knew exactly what was going through his mind. _"John… I know what it's like."_

John furrowed his brow and saw she was being dead serious. _"What it's like? You don't mean…"_

Sam nodded and sighed as she remembered Orlin's actions while on Earth. The NID had confiscated the makeshift Stargate Orlin had built out of most of her credit limit and toaster... she never did find out why he needed it… _"Yeah… I do."_

John was awestruck. Sam knew what it was like? _"So you know…?"_

Sam nodded and whispered. _"Yeah… I know…"_

Neither could explain it, the total and utter sensation of immeasurable feeling sharing oneself with an Ascended Ancient was. The closest a human mind can come to comprehend it without actually experiencing it was a vivid dream, where one's entire essence, the very core of their being momentarily fused with that of the other. Nothing was hidden, everything was shared, and both pain and strengths were combined.

The fact that they both knew what it felt like, they both understood what a personal and intimate thing it was made them look just a little bit differently at each other.

They sat there for a few minutes in quiet contemplation of each other, Sam staring hard at John, trying to discern some unspoken question. John finally couldn't take it anymore and looked back at her. _"Keep it down would ya?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I can hear you thinking."_

Sam smirked and laughed a bit, but she didn't stop gazing. _"Oh? What am I thinking?"_

John rolled his eyes and stared back at her. _"Beats me, you're going a mile a minute and I all I can hear are gears grinding… so you might as well just ask."_

This time Sam rolled her eyes, and sighed. _"Do you really wanna know?"_

"_Well you're probably going to telekinetically make my head explode if you keep staring so please…do so."_

Sam snickered a bit, then spoke softly. _"Promise me you'll never tell anyone I asked you this?"_

John was just a _little_ exasperated with Sam's continued insistance that nothing leak out of the Jumper. "_Sam… as far as anyone else is concerned we sat here and stared at each other for the past 2 days. Hell that's what we're doing now so it's not that far a stretch!"_

Sam smiled widely, and decided to finally take the hard step. _"Alright… John… I'm just curious I guess… I sorta maybe believed the gossip because I didn't really have any other reference…"_

John could see where this was going, but didn't interrupt.

"…_and well… I guess after the last 2 days I'm just a little surprised you don't have someone back home or… something." _God she was blushing. Sam couldn't even finish the sentence without looking away and giggling at herself. What could John possibly be thinking after hearing such a question?

John on the other hand was considering the question… and how he would answer it for the first time. _"Well… you sure know how to pick em Sam."_

Sam groaned at his response and shook her hand to him _"Oh no no no… please… just forget I asked. I shouldn't try and…"_

John took her hand and gently forced it back down. _"No no… it's a valid question… and you're not the first one to ask." _He smiled softly and sighed. _"But you are the first who's gonna get an answer."_

Sam smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder silently waiting for his reply.

John took a moment to collect himself, then tried to make it sound as unemotive as possible. _"To be perfectly honest… I guess you could say i haven't been… actively looking… you know I'm divorced right?"_

Sam nodded, and recalled the joke they'd shared right after the negotiations. _"You mentioned it at the village… but you didn't tell me anything about it."_

John snickered darkly. Only Ronon knew about Nancy, but even he didn't know exactly what happened. _"Yeah well… I don't tell just anyone. Hell Ronon met her and he doesn't know exactly what happened." _John sighed, as much as it made sense to him he still missed Nancy. _"It was a long time ago… I met her in University… After I joined the Air Force, they stationed me in Andrews with the 316__th__ and she got a job with the Government in DC. Got married quick and tried to settle a bit… Match made in heaven huh?"_

Sam nodded empathetically, but already had an idea how the story ended. _"Yeah… sounds like it was great."_

John remembered sneaking a Huey off base one night, and taking Nancy on a romantic flight along the Potomac… that was a few weeks before his reassignment. _"It was great… for awhile. I guess I was a little too much of a hotshot and next thing I knew Bosnia needs chopper pilots."_ John sighed, this time a little more depressed. _"You might outrank me… and you probably have more clearance than I do… but I'm not sure I can tell even you what happened out there."_

Sam understood, she'd had the same problem with Pete. _"You couldn't tell her what you were doing…"_

"_Yeah… we lasted awhile… I took shore in DC…" _emotion left his face, but Sam was starting to understand that John showed his pain by hiding it… burying it. _"I tried. I really tried. But every time she asked me what I was doing… what was bothering me… I just… god… how can you have a good relationship with someone who you see maybe once or twice a year?"_

Sam felt her heartstring tug, the empathy was getting to be too much and she felt her own situation start to slice at her. _"I… I…"_

John spoke with strength, the experience had hardened him to the situation and gave him clarity. _"You can't."_ It hit Sam like a bag of looked directly into her face with a power that was all John Sheppard. _"Sam, I loved that woman. She loved me… goddamnit she still loves me."_ His voice cracked, but just at the very edge and hardly noticeable._ "She helped us deal with the Replicator on Earth for Pete's sake… even after…"_ John's face quivered slightly, his muscles fighting to hold back his emotions. John opened his canteen and used it to hide his wince as he took a sip _"…Day before I left for Afghanistan she sent me the divorce papers… Didn't even contest anything… she just wanted…"_

Sam couldn't help it. She could see herself in his shoes, forced to abandon someone they loved because of military duty… not out of necessity, but out of one's own feelings of responsibility. Sam could see the pain behind his eyes at his own inability to be there for that woman and saw how tormented he was. Her lips quivered slightly even as her eyes moistened. Every bit of Sam's concentration was at full power to keep her from crying.

John regained his composure and sighed._ "…After that… nothing really felt the same… or really meant that much."_ His expression became resigned. John had obviously thought about it a lot._ "I guess I just started thinking it was pointless… I'm out here too much to put someone else in her shoes…" _John suddenly scoffed, amused at something as he stared off in the distance. _"Hell __**my**__ shoes sucked back then… but I guess she must have kicked a cat or something… She's a director for Homeland Security now and she can't tell her new hubby anything… Guess Karma's a real bitch sometimes."_

Sam wrapped her arms around John, ostensibly to comfort him, but now it was more to hide the fact that tears were running down her cheeks. _"I'm sorry John…" _She sniffled and repeated herself. _"… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry John…"_

John noticed right away she was barely restraining something and hugged her back. _"Sam? You gonna be okay?"_

It hurt so much, the realization that her and Jack were just too hard a pill to swallow. Sam didn't want a relationship where most of the time was spent pining for the other. Already she'd pined for him 10 years and it just _hurt so freaking much!_ At the rate she and Jack had evolved… she'd be having their first kid at 70 years old using alien technology. _"No… It's not fair…"_

John realized she was breaking down, his story shattering some invisible wall Sam held up in front of everyone. In a way, John wasn't surprised that Sam held a lot of pain inside, and he pulled her closer for an intimate hug of comfort. _"Hey…"_

Sam knew it was wrong, she knew that getting this close to her second in command was against every rule the Academy had ever given her. But Sam had had enough of the rules and regulations for anyone to take. Sam rolled off his shoulder and hugged him tightly as she sobbed. _"I'm sorry… John I'm sorry i…"_

John shushed her, and cradled her head in the nape of his neck. Truth be told he was feeling miserable over his situation as well. But the time he'd had with the people he'd loved was gone… and he'd become harder as a result. Sam was feeling the same and just needed someone she could open up to… and John didn't want her to end up like he did. _"Shhh… let it out Sam… shh…it's okay…" _His voice cracked as he finished. John's own eyes beginning to water. He was willing to be a support for her… a support John had never had for himself.

Sam needed to tell him, ever since Janet died Sam had never opened up to anyone else except her father… and he was dead as well now… his last advice still ringing in her ears. Sam had gone over this rant for so long in her mind that it just spewed out amidst sobs of misery. _"No John…it's not okay… I've been waiting so long… it's like my whole life has just been waiting for something I wanted so badly… but I never had the guts to just ta__ke it."_

John thought he knew what… or rather who it was she was talking about… He'd certainly seen how the General and Sam acted around each other._ "It's not that easy Sam…"_

Sam sniffled hard, and dried her tears on his collar. She noticed him groan softly and endure the pain in his shoulder… but he didn't back off and instead pulled her closer to him… John cared about her, enough to endure the pain just to comfort her a little… _"You don't know John… no one knows…" _John was about to say something but Sam shushed him by placing a hand over his motuh. _"No… no John… listen please… just listen. I've loved him for a long time John…and I know he loves me… maybe at first it was just some alpha male lust thing… but I fell in love and I buried it. I buried it so deep it stopped hurting."_ Sam sobbed softly as she spoke, pouring her heart out.

John didn't say anything, instead simply running his hands through her hair careful not to touch her injured forehead. This wasn't the kind of conversation he liked but it was obvious Sam had reached a breaking point and needed to vent. John realized that what was happening was completely private, and no one outside of the two of them would ever hear of this.

Sam continued. _"I buried it so deep… I started wanting something else… and I took a risk… the wrong one. Before I knew it I was engaged and it wasn't to the man I wanted… It wasn't a man I loved… I took the wrong type of risk and I ended up hurting him so bad John…"_

John pulled her in closer as he wrapped the blanket around her, they were so close even whispers were clear and loud. There wasn't a thing John could say that could help her now.

Sam's emotions came out unrelentingly. _"I hurt him so bad he found someone else… and everything started falling apart… he was my safe bet… the one thing I knew was a constant and would never change… until it did… next thing I know we finally admit it… I was so scared but I dug it up because I think it's time… we swear we're going to try and make it work…" _

John finally spoke, understanding where Sam was coming from. _"Then you got sent here… away from him."_

Sam's voice was high pitched now as she completely broke down and wept mercilessly, her body shaking with every sob. _"I wish it was that simple… I tried John… after so long I took the chance and it was too late… He's so far away now… more than just off-limits… I'm here in Atlantis and I'm not about to leave… and I just don't know what to think anymore."_ She really didn't.

It had been a long time coming but slowly she was getting over the drug like effects of Jack O'Neill. He'd always mean more to her than just a close friend, but she'd grown stagnant knowing that there was always a fallback point. Being with Pete… and seeing Jack with Kerry had taught her just how folly that logic was.

"_I can't wait any longer John… I'm realizing I've been a damn fool and never saw what I had in front of me because I've been so focused on the wrong thing… I've been waiting my whole life and it just refuses to work out… and it's just me that it doesn't want to work out for."_

"_Sam…"_

"_No John you don't understand… I've seen it John… every alternate reality, timeline or universe… they all worked out… the me there always took a chance and got what she wanted…"_

Now John was freaking out, what was Sam saying? _"What?"_

"_I saw them John… they were so happy no matter who it was and they didn't have… this."_

John rubbed the back of her head and stroked down her neck. _"Command?"_

Sam shook her head. _"Too much… patience…they knew what they wanted and they weren't afraid to take it…"_ Sam stopped openly crying and drew in sharp breaths as she regained her control. _"I'm…" _She looked to John and took a deep breath, quickly recomposing herself and feeling extremely embarrassed._ "I'm sorry John… I shouldn't… I shouldn't have dumped this all on you."_

John shrugged and squeezed her in a supportive hug. In a lot of ways he felt similar and could imagine what it had been like for her. _"It's okay Sam… I'm here to back you up no matter what and that's what I'm gonna do."_

"_I just… I don't want you to think I'm… weak or…"_

John gently cupped her mouth with his hand and shushed her. _"Shit… Sam! I could never think that! For god's sake… Everybody keeps telling me how tough you are… the hard decisions and fucking miracles you've pulled outta yer ass!"_ It was insulting… and almost enraging to think that Sam suspected tha the thought she was resting on her laurels. John knew better than that, and he had to make it clear to Sam._ "…And you know what? Even if I knew nothing of you before you walked through that gate… you've been in Atlantis less than a year and kicked more ass, done more for this galaxy than I could have ever thought possible. You have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone, especially me!"_

Sam sniffled, and fully enjoyed how close she was to him now, the harsh yet utterly honest way he raised his voice to give her his unyieldingly powerful support. It was so reassuring to know that this man saw her in his own way, not just what others told him about her. Sam could feel the shivers running up his spine, the heat his skin generated when they touched, and the sudden appearance of sweat where their necks met. _"So you don't… see me differently now?"_

John pulled her up and got into a more intimate hug position. It was by far the most forward thing he'd done to her but John felt that she needed to be sure that his feelings about her command were unchanged. _"Not in the slightest bit. We're all human Sam… and… and I getcha…I just getcha a lot more than you might know…"_

Her pouring of her soul had overfilled his, and now he shared his experience with her even as his own eyes watered and his voice began to crack. _"… I loved Elizabeth you know? And even worse I had the chance to be with her… and I didn't take it because…" _John's expression hardened, his natural reaction to his emotional response._ "…because I didn't want to ruin what we already had… and I felt it could wait…and maybe it wasn't what I thought it was… and now it's too late for anything..."_ He took a deep breath in and blinked away his tears. Sam hugged him back just as tightly, feeling every ounce of pain in his soul.

John kept his voice quiet, and whispered into her hair just barely loud enough for her to hear. _"So you don't have to worry about me not understanding what it's like to… to never take that chance and have to live with the consequences." _

Sam had always known John felt more than platonic about Elizabeth, His reaction to Sam taking command was more than enough evidence that John cared about Dr Weir. _"I'm sorry John… I'm sorry…"_

"_Yeah… me too…"_

They were silent now, the gentle humming of the Jumper's engines the only sound other than their muted breath, repressed sobs, and slowly accelerating heart rate. Sam nuzzled her cheek against his, both to soothe and comfort the two of them. The 2 days of stubble were surprisingly gentle, and she sighed contently at the familiar, yet almost forgotten feeling of being close to someone. John was fighting his hormones… why… _why did his commanding officers always have to be so goddamn attractive!?_

It was ridiculous, they both knew it, but in that moment when they came to the realization that both of them had loved and lost, both had regrets of inaction… and both were beyond comfortable in each other's arms. Suddenly the world didn't feel so lonely. _"John… I need to ask you something."_ The idea in Sam's head was confusing, but she just needed to know for a fact… no more of this _'I know' _bullshit when it came to this.

John tried to control his breathing… and opened his soul to her. _"Anything…"_

Sam pulled away a bit, and stared him dead in the eyes. Sam's eyes… they were so beautiful… like a gentle doe watching curiously… a deep blue that felt as if John could fall into its ocean. John's eyes were different… an almost crystalline quality to them, Sam felt she could see the entire color spectrum as she gazed back, lost in the depths of his sight. _"I… if… if I asked… asked you to…"_

"…_Yeah…?"_ John wondered what she could possibly ask of him. In his current state he'd… John didn't even know his limits could go that far in what he would do for her now.

This was one of the hardest things Sam had ever done, years of duty clawed at her, trying to keep her from finding out… that's all she needed… just to find out… for once just to know for a fact… _"If I asked you to… kiss me… a real kiss… Would you… would you do it?"_

John stayed silent, but moved his hands from her back and cupped her face. Sam gasped and moaned slightly at his touch, gentle… yet so assured. It was unlike any other time Sam had been touched, the soft unshakable confidence, the gentle passion that seeped out like electricity from his fingertips. John took a few moments to answer but finally did in a soft certain whisper. _"Yeah… you bet I would." _

Neither said anything, just coming to grips that they had just made their lives exponentially more complicated. John wanted… he longed to make Sam feel better, he wanted himself to feel better. But most of all John just had to know that he wasn't alone anymore and that he hadn't just committed the worst mistake possible… one he would regret. _"Do you… want me to kiss you?"_

Sam was torn, here he was, suddenly another man she could call worthy. John was everything she could want… caring, strong, intelligent… She could see herself with him at her side… and this time it wasn't out of some feeling that she was missing out… John wouldn't be another Pete… John would be John, not a replacement for something she _felt_ she _wanted_… but just John… perhaps something she _actually_ _needed_.

Sam had never considered the possibility of a relationship with him, but it made perfect sense… everything between them clicked. But despite wanting it, and feeling the desire for that close and intimate contact, Sam had to stop this before they did something they regretted… but Sam wasn't going to wait any longer to know. _"Yeah…yeah I __**do**__ want you to kiss me… and that's exactly why you shouldn't." _

She couldn't risk something happening. If he leaned forward and kissed her… Sam might not be able to control herself. But what was the point of only admitting it and never…

John checked his sigh, did he feel relief… or disappointment? So he said nothing and just pressed his forehead to Sam's, their noses touching gently in the Athosian way John had learned. It was pure instinct… a way John could show his intimacy… his desire and genuine care for this suddenly alluring woman and still keep some semblance of civility.

Sam smiled, and even as John wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs she slid across his face and pressed their cheeks together. Her heart was rend in two with the knowledge that John would be willing to break that rule… that one rule that kept her unhappy. As hard as it was to admit, Sam didn't feel so bad anymore.

John held her close, his mind was a fugue of emotion, desire, and confusion… _"So what do you wanna do about this?"_

Before she could reply, the radio on the bench next to the jerryrigged flashlight crackled to life. _"..nel Car…eppard…ease come in…"_

John winced, Pegasus always had perfect timing. _"Our ride's here… we'll have to wait to talk until…"_

John felt Sam grab his neck and suddenly press her lips on his with sudden spontaneity… _Fruity_… from the MRE she'd recently eaten… _moist_… it was more than just a friendly kiss… _passion_…It was one of the most passionate embraces either John or Sam had ever had, the sudden craze breaking their control as their mouths explored each other. John momentarily froze, caught completely unawares and panicking. His instincts took oever then and he wrapped his own arms around her and returned the intimacy.

"_Daeda… Col…nel…ter and Shep… Ple… come in."_

Sam pulled her lips away reluctantly after a moment, her eyes wide as she was now astonished from having committed such an reckless move. _Why did she do it?_ _She'd just told him they shouldn't! _

They both ran through the possible reasons in their heads, but Sam knew she'd done it simply to prove to herself that she could take what she wanted… and now that John stared back at her equally surprised and excited by their mutual embrace, Sam realized it had been totally worth it.

"_Uhh… Wow… uhh…this just got…" _John couldn't finish and just started laughing in disbelief. He _so_ did not just tongue wrestle his boss. _"…Wow!"_

Sam started laughing as well… it wasn't nearly as hard or as complicated as she thought it might be. _"I… I'm…" _She wanted to say she was sorry, that it would never happen again and that she felt horrible for taking advantage of her second in command… but she couldn't, because she knew it just wasn't true. _"That was…"_ she laughed as well, and ignored the squawking radio. _"That was…Wow"_

John started laughing again, and nodded. _"Yeah… it was…wow" _The radio screeched again, this time clear and a bit more empathetically. John picked it up and looked to Sam before clicking the transmit button. _"You and me need to have a talk later… but for now…"_ Sam nodded gingerly and remained silent in her suddenly befuddled state. _"Colonel Caldwell, this is Colonel Sheppard! Come in."_

"_Colonel Sheppard, good to hear your voice. Can I assume Colonel Carter is with you?"_

John handed her the radio, and Sam took a deep breath before speaking. _"I'm here Colonel. We're in orbit of the last planet in the system, Is the Wraith Hive still in orbit around the planet with the Stargate?"_

A few moments passed, and John could feel Sam shift her weight onto him. She must have been pretty tired. John didn't blame her. Caldwell's voice came in clear and free. _"Copy that Colonel, Wraith are still in the area. Recommend you disengage cloak and let us recover you before we press our assault."_

John and Sam both nodded idly, and John handed the tablet to her. _"Here… look Sam…"_

Sam shushed him, and hit the radio. _"Colonel Caldwell, the cloak is off now. How long till extraction?"_

A moment passed, and Sam kept her hand on John's shoulder to keep him quiet. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about this until they were safe, so John kept quiet. Caldwell's voice was obviously relieved. _"We'll be at your position in 4 minutes. We've got medical teams waiting in the docking bay. How're you guys holding up?"_

John scoffed, and started laughing. He made sure Sam wasn't holding the transmit button and muttered. _"'Oh we're great Colonel. For 2 whole days we were just chatting until we decided 'hey, we really like each other!' then things just went all skewy from there…"_

Sam made a frustrated noise with her throat and gave him a harsh almost hurt look. _"John!… please… not now!"_

John sighed dejectedly, this looked like one of the times humor wouldn't get him through in one piece. _"Jesus Sam…" _he leaned forward nad pulled her into an embrace. _"I'm just Damnit I'm just confused alright? I promise we'll talk once we're back on 'lantis."_

Sam wanted to get angry, she wanted to take his attempt at humor and latch onto it as a buoy to keep from doing something else she might end up regretting. But Sam knew she wouldn't regret it, and taking in a deep breath of his neck she sniffled. _"We need to fix this… I…"_

John kissed her again, softly this time, Sam kept quiet as their mouths parted and a little bridge of saliva connected their lips. She kept her eyes closed as they simply breathed in the moment. John picked up his radio. _"Caldwell… We're holding up alright… just wanna go home."_

Sam dropped her head onto his shoulder as he said the word home, she whispered softly as John held her and ran his fingers through her hair. _"Home…"_ Sam blinked away her tears, now wondering what would happen to them, but knew he'd support her no matter what._ "…Yeah let's go home John."_

_--------------------------------_

_**A/N:**__ In preparing for this rewrite, I looked up a lot of Amanda Tapping's interviews where Jack/Sam comes into question. She herself says that of course Sam cares about Jack way more than anyone else, but after the events of Grace, and continuing with Chimera (Yes Chimera does exist. Sorry Jack/Sam Fans) A.T. herself feels that Sam is starting to understand that while Jack is a safe bet, she doesn't necessarily think he's the only one possible._


	11. Unleashed Can Of

_**Chapter 10 – Unleashed Can Of…**_

_---------------------------------_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **__"Miss me?"_

_**Specialist Ronon Dex:**__ "Meh."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**_ _"Well since Ronon doesn't love me anymore, what about you Major?"_

_**Major Evan Lorne: **__"Maybe not love Sir, but I'll admit I missed you dealing with all the paperwork."_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__"Great, I'm gone two days and everybody writes me off. Remind me never to take another vacation."_

_----------------------------------_

_A/N: Next three chapters are almost pure action. i'm ridiculously busy this week so i might not update as fast. story's almost done anyways so you won't have to wait too long :)  
_

_ Originally they were going to bring in Alicia Vega in season 5 in a similar way they did Lorne in season 2, but I think because the actress was busy with Battlestar Galactica (she was one of Baltar's fanatic hussies :P) and there wasn't enough room in the final cut, they eventually wrote her character out._

_To Gabumon: Yeah! I like this one alot more too :D :D  
_

_--------------------------------------_

Ronon waited patiently as the Jumper was towed in. He fully expected a horrible smell that no human being should be physically capable of creating to come out of the aft hatch once it was opened and held Lorne back by his shoulder to spare him the agony.

The technicians were groaning already, the heavy scorch mark and broken windshield of the jumper belied just how much damage their scanners were telling them, and they knew Rodney was going to have a freakout.

Ronon on the other hand was more interested in the state of Sheppard and Carter. He had more than just simple curiosity, Ronon wanted to see if what had happened to him and Jennifer could happen to other people as well… or was just an isolated incident.

More out of respect, and even some hesitation had Ronon left the matter unattended. A lunch here, a sparring training session there, nothing that he'd consider… more than platonic. He was intensely curious to see what it had been like for Sheppard and Carter to spend 2 days in an even smaller space than the Infirmary.

The aft hatch opened, and the few techs around were hit full blast by the reprocessed air inside… as well as the smell of two sweat drenched people mixed with dirt, blood, and the ever so pungent taste of body odor.

Ronon watched with a keen eye… Sheppard was carrying Carter and she had no compunction about being carried… Odd… only a few weeks ago Carter had nearly punched Sheppard over his carrying her to her quarters when Jennifer forced him to relieve her of duty. But now… Carter hung off his neck with her arms… and she looked comfortable.

Both looked like they'd been through the ringer. Sheppard looked tired and sore, but quickly recovering now that he could move around. Carter on the other hand looked exhausted, her eyes were red, the skin of her cheeks was dirty with sweat and… tears?

She'd been crying. It wasn't obvious but Ronon could tell. He doubted anyone else could… except for maybe Sheppard… seeing as he was gently rubbing her back as he moved to set her down on the stretcher the medics had brought. The hell happened?

They were arguing, Sheppard slapped away the medic trying to check him over and pointed to Carter. His voice carried through the hanger. _"No you listen, Colonel Carter's been a lot more severely injured than I have so you take care of her NOW! You don't even consider scanning me till she's alright, Clear?!!"_

"_But Sir…"_

"_But __**nothing**__! I said I'm fine and I mean it, So unless I'm screaming in agony begging for someone to kill me to stop the pain, you don't even CONSIDER scanning me first!"_

_Oh yeah_… something was bothering him. Sheppard was rarely angry, and never rude to anyone who didn't deserve it. Thankfully that medic was used to dealing with Dr McKay, and while a little offended that it came from the Colonel, relented and began to hook Carter up to an EKG. She grabbed Sheppard's wrist… physical contact? Why didn't she just tell him to listen?

Ronon could hear them as he moved closer, just barely and he doubted anyone else would be able to. _"Sheppard… the hell are you doing?"_

"_I'm gonna go to that hive and get our men back… and any Wraith that get in the way are gonna die."_

"_Christ John… you need medical attention…"_

Sheppard put his hand on her shoulder. Ronon raised his eyebrows at the sudden personal move. He wasn't a devout follower, but _by the ancestors!_ _"It can wait… If you weren't all gimpy you'd be right behind me and you know it."_

Carter stayed silent for a moment, and winced as the nearby medic peeled off her bandage on her head. She whispered in a barely audible tone, the pain in her voice scarcely evident. _"Come back alive. That's an order."_

Sheppard nodded, and gave her a squeeze before watching her get wheeled away.

Holy _crap!_ Something happened!

Ronon stayed silent though, he doubted anyone who didn't know them personally would have noticed the suddenly personal camaraderie they had, most of the people in the hanger bay were prepping the 302s for action as well as the Jumpers they'd be using in the invasion of the Hive. Sheppard looked to Ronon and waved Lorne over. _"Miss me?"_

"_Meh." _Ronon figured he'd wait till he was alone with Sheppard to interrogate him. Sheppard had been the only one to notice something different with Ronon and Jennifer, and he'd kept silent as a stone…. Ronon owed him the same.

Sheppard rolled his eyes and looked to Lorne. _"Well since Ronon doesn't love me anymore, what about you Major?"_

Lorne scoffed in a laugh, and shook his head idly. _"Maybe not love Sir, but I'll admit I missed you dealing with all the paperwork."_

Sheppard scoffed back, and rolled his eyes again. _"Great, I'm gone two days and everybody writes me off. Remind me never to take another vacation."_

It was apparent to Ronon, and seemingly no one else that Sheppard was being a smartass to hide something… but Ronon could wait to find out, right now there were Wraith to end.

_-------------------------------------_

"_Marine Squad Alpha, Jumper 1, AR-1! Marine Squad Beta, Jumper 2 AR-3! Marine Squad Foxtrot, Jumper 3 and Airborne! Marine Squad Lima, Jumpers 1 and 2 with AR-2, Move it Move it!"_

Lorne and Sheppard were impressed. Captain Vega may look like a fragile hottie, but _damn_ she could make marines quake in their skin. Maybe it was the way she projected such a loud and threatening voice out of such a small frame.

Sheppard took a deep breath, He'd submitted to a quick scan by Keller to avoid being automatically medically relived, but completely ignored her recommendation to sit this one out. His shoulder still burned a bit, but 2 days of rest and self-treatment and John was reasonably sure he'd be okay.

This was unlike any fight with the Wraith they'd had before, never in the Atlantis Expedition's History had they invaded a fully manned hive and with only 24 people total heading into combat, Tactics would be their main if only advantage beyond surprise.

Jumper 3 would head down and secure the gate to begin recovery and if needed, evacuation procedures for the villagers still on the planet. The Marines were in full paratrooper gear, and ready for heavy combat. A squadron of F-302 Starfighters would provide air cover and support.

Jumpers 1 and 2 would be more hard pressed though, Daedalus's weapons would be used to disable the Hive, then the 302s would crack open the Hive's main hanger so the troops would have somewhere to land. Armed with Kriss Super V's, P-90s and Semi Automatic Shotguns, it would be a savage close in fight for control.

John hopped into the jumper and fought back a wince from his shoulder. He'd likely fractured a rib too now that he could move and feel how hurt he was, but nothing serious enough to stop him. Ronon sat behind him, keeping a surprisingly watchful on on John. Rodney on the other hand carried a satchel with his MacGyverised tablet and looked as if Adult Diapers would need to be ordered in. _"Ok… can I just point out that this is tantamount to suicide before we go?"_

John shrugged as he felt the Daedalus come out of hyperspace, right on top of the Hive as the plan was set out. To the sides of the Jumper, the F-302's radio chatter as they '_kick'd the tires an' lit the fires'_ and flared out of the hangerbay in an impressive show of rocket technology. _"Have we ever stopped you from pointing it out?"_

Rodney shrugged, and cringed as the Jumper took off. _"No… but I know it's because I'm right and that just scares me more."_

Ronon grunted, and looked back at the squad of 6 Marines as well as Lorne's team prepping themselves for action. He smirked at John's reply and added his own thoughts. _"Good, you do your best work when scared."_

Rodney grumbled something, but quickly shut up as he watched the inner section of the Daedalus vanish from the windshield and the Jumper expose itself to the harsh environment of crisscrossing plasma and railgun fire.

----------------------------

"_Ox! 2 on your six! Break break!"_

Captain Anthony _'Razor'_ Pierce screamed into his headset. Two Wraith Darts were bearing down on his comrade and without assistance, they'd overwhelm him.

The F-302 Starfighter made the Wraith Dart seem pathetic in comparison, but with only 16 plus Daedalus versus the almost two hundred Darts, It was more along the lines of the battle of Thermopylae. Already one 302 had been destroyed and it was only the first minute of combat, although fully 20 Darts had been destroyed as well _"Get em off me Raze!"_

Razor pitched his craft to the side, dodged an incoming plasma bolt, and flicking the safety on his Railguns off, fired a few bursts that effectively cut one of the offending Darts in half while chasing the other off with a few smoking holes in it. _"Ya owe me a beer Ox!"_

Before Ox could reply, their squad leader, Major Jason _'Bigmac' _McCrea squelched their frequency and chewed them out. _"Stow it Titans, Keep to shootin' roaches instead'a shootin' yer mouths!" _

Razor didn't need anymore problems with his CO, and pulled the craft up to rejoin the battle around the Daedalus. He watched as lances of blue plasma dug into the massive Wraith Hive, tearing open the organic armor and exposing the hull to space. Razor felt sudden amusement at the idea of running over a Wraith Drone or Commander with the Daedalus. Sort of like a bug on a windshield.

"_Titan Wing! The hive's disabled! Kick the door down!"_

A target marker appeared on Razor's HUD, and he quickly spun around dodging incoming fire, a few stray darts, and the occasional railgun shot that zipped past. He locked on with his anti-fighter missiles and fired.

The Phoenix 4 rocket boosted missile was strong enough to crack open the hanger bay door, but not enough to damage the interior making a landing impossible. The Jumpers were already cloaked and Razor silently hoped that they made it through the maelstrom of weapons fire.

Razor didn't stick around to watch as the suddenly dozen missiles nailed the hanger door. The blue organic plating cracked under each hit, and finally with a few railgun shots from Daedalus, the heavy doors shattered and the atmosphere inside decompressed explosively sending the broken pieces of the door into orbit of the planet.

"_Titan Wing, Disengage from the Hive and secure the area around the gate planetside." _Caldwell's voice had the gentleness of a sledgehammer.

_Bigmac_'s voice wasn't much nicer. _"You heard the Colonel! Form up and shred 'em!"_

Razor growled, and fired another missile tearing a Dart apart before heading towards the planet. He could see almost a dozen Darts falling back to the planet as well, and was glad that part of the plan involved Atlantis dialing in to keep any Darts in the area. For once, the Wraith were trapped using their own tactics and about to get exterminated like the little roaches they were.

-------------------------------

"_SWEET HOLY NEWTON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"_

John ignored Rodney's sudden strange outburst and flipped the Jumper around. He was sure Lorne was doing the same beside him and shut the cloak off to be sure they didn't bump into each other doing such a dangerous move.

Hitting the engines full blast, he negated the inertia the approach gave the Jumper. John turned and screamed at the Marines. _"Hard landing! Secure the area!"_

Rodney had completely panicked and was cowering in fear with his hands over his head, of course no one cared at this point seeing as already the Drones that were in the landing bay had opened fire with their stunners trying to disable to Jumper. The aft hatch blew open and the sudden staccato fire of rifles, SMGs and shotguns rang out. Ronon's Traveler blaster added a strange whine to the weapons fire, and John knew he was probably the first one out.

Rodney sat dazed and confused, still wondering if this was the afterlife. _'I'm so not cut out for this… I'm a physicist, not a daredevil…"_

John turned to Rodney, and shook his shoulder to show him he wasn't dead. _"Come on McKay, yer not dead yet so let's move!"_

Rodney looked up at John through his stunned and fearfully awed expression. _"That's only until the Aneurism hits me… which shouldn't be much longer now…"_

John rolled his eyes, unslung his P90 and pulled Rodney along. _"Stay behind cover, let the marines do the heavy lifting!"_

Rodney's thoughts were jumbled. Heavy lifting? _No Sheppard, I can only lift 15 pounds at a time! That's my tablet and the interface… this P90 might actually push me over that limit and Keller'll scream at you aren't you hurt? I saw her screaming at you already anyway before we left… _

It didn't matter much, John leaned out from behind the side of the Jumper and surveyed the battle. There were three passageways heading into the hangerbay and Wraith flooded out. John thanked God for inventing shotguns as the heavy buckshot tore chunks out of the masked Drones. The Kriss Super V's were doing serious damage as well with their .45 caliber rounds, each burst cutting their targets to shreds.

John aimed high, and his P90 spat a burst of 5.7mm bullets that blew apart the heads of the Drones he'd aimed at. Without half of their brains, they stumbled about and fell to the ground still spewing out blood and gore.

The immediate area was still contested, and John realized they wouldn't be able to hold the bay with three entryways. A few more moments of combat, and the hanger was theirs… for the moment. _"Major Lorne!" _

Tha Major got up from behind his cover and kept his Benelli shotgun aimed at the corridors, John kept down as well and crouched next to him. _"Sir! I've got 2 men down, we won't hold this position long with all these points to cover."_

John was glad Lorne could see the problem too, he took a second to breath then nodded. _"I'm taking my team to the bridge. Vega's team will take out the jamming device and you and the marines'll hold here with Doc Porter. Once we're out blow the corridors we don't use."_

Lorne's jaw moved a fraction of an inch, but he quickly nodded. _"Yes sir… Here."_ Lorne swung his shotgun around and handed it butt first to John. _"Think you'll need this a little more than I do."_

John smirked, and handed Lorne his P90 and clips as they exchanged weapons. _"Thanks Major… knew there was a reason I liked you."_

Lorne would have smiled, but another wave of Wraith decided to attack and a stunner bolt landed between them alerting them to the incoming attack.

John kept low and moved back towards the jumper amidst return fire. He covered his ears at hearing a Marine scream _'Frag out!'_ and heard the satisfying subsonic thump through his hands.

Rodney had finagled his gear together and held a P90 shakily. _"Are we going back yet?"_

Rolling his eyes, John motioned with his head. _"Come on! We're moving out now! Have you seen Ronon?"_

Rodney nodded, flicked the safety off his P90 and pointed out to one of the corridors. _"He went that way with some Marines."_

John grabbed Rodney's sleeve and tugged him along, keeping low, they reached Captain Vega's position where she and Sergeant Dusty were covering Dr. Porter as she tended to a stunned Marine. _"Captain! Lorne's gonna cover Porter! You're gonna take out the Wraith Jamming signal and see if you can find any of our outpost crew. I'm taking my team to the bridge. Clear!?"_

Captain Vega reloaded her XM-8 with a drum clip and smirked. _"Crystal sir!"_

John waved two Marines over and pointed at them _"See Doc Porter here? VIP, Nothing touches her, clear?"_

"_Clear sir!"_

John ducked as a stunner bolt landed nearby, and cringed as Dusty unloaded half a clip of Kriss Super V fire in a trio of bursts into the oncoming Drones. They staggered under the spray of fire from her and another Marine and fell convulsing to the floor. John winced at the splattered gore lining the hallway and pointed out two marines with Kriss Super V's _"You two, on my six, McKay's your package! Move!"_

John waved them forward, and moved ahead. He raised the M4 Super 90 shotgun and scanned the area with his eyes. No targets._ "McKay! Which way did Ronon go!?"_

Rodney scampered over on his knees and pointed hurriedly at one of the corridors. _"That way! Oh god my knees are gonna shatter… I'll never walk again…I'll end up like Gary Sinise in Forest gump… Titanium claw legs…"_

Ignoring Rodney's incessant, if hilarious whining, John crouched and moved forward shotgun at the ready. _"Major! Blow the other two corridors! Nothing human passes this doorway!"_

Somewhere in the cacophony of the battle, John swore he could hear a _"Yes Sir!" _from Lorne, but it didn't matter. Lorne wasn't an idiot and would seal all three if it came down to it. John knew they'd either accomplish their respective missions or die trying.

Alicia and Dusty were right behind him, each grasshopping between outcroppings in the Hive corridor heading to the fork where they would split up. _"Contact!" _

John slammed his back against wall and saw one of the 6 marines with them take fire. He screamed in shock and fired a burst before falling to the ground unconscious. The bullets hit the commander that had downed him, but only a glancing wound. Dusty knelt and aimed for the legs of the Commander and drones in tow.

It was a fusillade, and in the end no more marines or air force personnel took fire. John hated leaving a man down like this so he ordered one of the other marines to drag him back and regroup with Lorne's team. That left only a pair of marines to back up Vega and him respectively.

John stepped over the fallen bodies of the Wraith, giving each a wide berth just in case. They reached the fork where Vega, Dusty, and the two marines they had in tow would follow to disable the jamming device. _"Keep in contact with Major Lorne Captain, no unnecessary risks."_

Alicia nodded, and waved her subordinates behind her. _"Let's go! Move it Move it Move it!"_

John shrugged his head around, she might look like a college student, but damn, he wouldn't wanna piss her off.

-----------------------------------

Razor groaned as his 302 spun around and managed to get good tone on the Dart harassing the jumper. _"Razor 2-6, Fox 4!"_

The rocket boosted missile pinged out of the starfighter's missile bay and fell 5 feet down before igniting. It soared ahead at high mach speed slamming into the Wraith Dart turning it to molten slag amidst the deafening explosion.

Bigmac's voice came in over the radio even as Razor saw the Jumper's aft hatch blow open. _"All fighters, engage at will and be ready to support ground troops!"_

Adding to the chaos of the darts and F-302s zipping about, the Marines in the back of the jumper leapt out and began to fall to the ground from thirty thousand feet in the air.

Razor didn't have time to worry about them though, as his warning indicator painted a Dart moving in behind him. He smirked as his thoughts melded into action. _'Up an' at em!'_

The 302 pulled up in a tight pitch, easily outmaneuvering the Dart that now disengaged, but instead of just following his turn, Razor momentarily shut his engines off, spun the craft around using maneuvering thrusters, then engaged the engines again feeling that oh so satisfying feeling of high gravity pulling him into his seat.

'_Come back 'ere ya lil' Roach… papa tony's got a shoe with your name on it!' _A long burst from his Railguns was sufficient to put said Wraith Dart into a corkscrew spin, half its right wing perforated and useless. The battle was going well, and Razor could only imagine what the battle in space was going like.

--------------------------------------

"_Status Major."_

Caldwell was calm. Ever since the Daedalus had been retrofitted with the Asgard Plasma Beam weapons, most encounters with the Wraith or even Replicators proved to be a demonstration of futility. On more than one occasion he'd felt the urge to hail the opposing ship, and say something like _"We are the Atlantis Expedition, Lower your weapons and prepare to surrender. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our logs. Resistance is Futile."_

Of course, the ironic thing was that after facing the Replicators, Caldwell felt even more convinced that the Borg were the baddest ass villains ever. Major Marks didn't even turn as he continued to pilot the ship and fire on the enemy darts. _"Shields at 72 percent sir, Enemy Darts are continuing to target our Plasma Weaponry and have changed to Alpha Strike tactics."_

Caldwell rolled his eyes, despite the Major being very, and he did stress the word _very_, skilled at his position, he had a tendency to keep the military jargon to a maximum. Not that he could openly criticize or even advise the man, but it was still annoying. _"Swat em Major. I hate bugs."_

Major Marks smirked and continued firing. The Railguns had auto targeting sensors and with any luck, the shields wouldn't go much further than 50 percent before the Darts were all gone. It was more than just satisfying to be the one 'swatting the bugs away'.

-----------------------------------

"_Sam?"_

Sam smiled, but it was less than friendly. _"I have a concussion Doctor. Not deaf or blind."_

Jennifer rolled her eyes and pulled out a pen light. _"I never said you were. Now hold still."_

Sam relented and cringed as Jennifer pointed the light in her eyes. _"You already know it's gonna be sluggish… I took some oxycodone for the pain a few hours ago."_

Jennifer remained stoic, and after checking both eyes scrunched her face. _"How much did you take?"_

Sam snickered, it was already done and there was _absolutely nothing_ Jennifer could do about it! Her smile was obviously quite stoned. _"Enough to make up for the broken leg."_

Jennifer sighed dejectedly and shook her head idly. _"Well thank god I only order the delayed release pills. You should be okay for another few hours but if it starts hurting again tell me. I'll start a valium/codeine drip."_ Jennifer waved away the two medics around her and closed the curtain to Sam's bed. _"Let's take a look at that foot of yours now."_ Sam sat up and used one foot to take off the boot of her sprained foot. Jennifer furrowed her brow at the sight. _"Doesn't that hurt?"_

Shaking her head, Sam realized that Jennifer was about to put two and two together. _"No uh… Colonel Sheppard gave me some treatment in the Jumper."_ She felt the red tinge creep along her neck, and recognized that this was going to be… difficult.

"_I can see that… My scan shows a serious sprain but I guess he must have…"_ Jennifer smiled deviously. _"Worked all the kinks out?"_

Sam winced, _oh yeah_, Keller had an inkling. _"You could say that."_

Jennifer smirked, and made sure no one was around. _"Soo… are you gonna wait for me to ask?"_

Sam laid back down and tried to look innocent. _"Ask what?"_

Jennifer rolled her eyes and leaned in. _"What was it like? 2 days alone with the Colonel…"_

Sam laughed, but it was a purely defensive reaction. There was little to no humor in her being after what had just happened. _"What?!... no… nothing…it was boring really… we talked… we joked around…"_ Sam's eyes glazed over, remembering how passionate those last few minutes on the Jumper were.

Jennifer nodded with a disbelieving expression. _"Ah huh… and?"_

Sam drew upon untold years of experience, and in the most believable tone, an almost casual and yet sincere and heartfelt voice said _"And… nothing."_

Jennifer didn't believe a word of it.

_------------------------------------_

Alicia swung around and used the butt of her rifle to cave in the head of the Drone that had lunged at her from around the corner. She quickly fell back, but before she could aim and make sure the Drone was dead, Dusty fired a burst from her Kriss Super V tearing the mask and head clean off the Wraith. _"That's 4 for me Cap!"_

Alicia rolled her eyes and waved the Marines forward, they still had plenty of ground to cover before getting to the Jamming device and for the moment resistance was surprisingly light. _"It's not nice to steal kills you know!?"_

_-----------------------------------_

"_Took you guys long enough. I need help here."_

John raised his eyebrows to Ronon and the Marine crouching next to him _"__**You **__need help? This is a first."_

Ronon ignored the sarcasm and hooked his thumb down the corridor. _"Barracks, bunch of Wraith inside, I don't have any explosives." _

John peeked around, and muttered a curse._ "Crap… how many Rodney?"_

Rodney tapped on the lifesigns detector and flinched. _"2 or three football teams worth I'm guessing."_

John sighed and clicked his tongue. _"American or Canadian?"_

Rodney did a double take. _"What? There's a difference?"_

One of the Marines holding a P90 nodded in his direction. _"Yes sir, American has 11 players, Canadian has 12."_

Rodney raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. _"Oh! Really? So it's better?"_

John grunted and pulled a pair of Frag Grenades out of his vest. _"No, just mutated. Now be quiet and take cover."_

Without waiting for more argument, John yanked the pins out and leaned out from the corner. The small barracks was well manned, and it looked like Rodney had been thinking of Canadian football. He lobbed one grenade, then the other, and took cover as he put his hands to his ears.

A quick successive double thump and John swung out with his shotgun at the ready. He felt Ronon and the trio of Marines with them brush past as they breached the area and opened fire.

The wraith were completely caught off guard, and John sighted in on one commander in particular who seemed somewhat coherent. John shouldered the pistol grip shotgun and fired.

The commander had raised its stunner pistol. But it was moot as the arm that held the pistol was torn clean off by the heavy buckshot. The Wraith reeled back and groaned from the pain, but quickly recovered and charged towards John. _"Not this time…"_

Instead of firing again, John lunged out and slammed the butt of the shotgun into the face of the Wraith. It hadn't been expecting such a ferocious attack and fell back, it's face bloodied and eyes damaged. John was about to shoot him again when a burst of fire from a P90 tore across the Commander sending him to the ground in bloodied pieces.

John didn't bother thanking or even rebuking the Marine, and set his sights on the next target, another Commander, this one trying to reach a control panel as he crawled. It was almost an execution style kill as John calmly walked over, and completely blew the creature's head away.

To his side, Ronon's blaster as well as more sounds of automatic weapon's fire through the smoke told him that the area was almost secure. Halfway to their objective and so far so good.

----------------------------------

"_Sir! Darts have changes tactics! Kamikaze!"_

Caldwell could see that. The normally relatively weak plasma cannons the Darts used didn't do much against the Daedalus's shields, but the reactors inside the Dart that powered the craft was much _much_ stronger. Dart after Dart slammed into the forward shields of the craft amidst railgun fire that only took out a few of the offending craft. _"Evasive Major!"_

Marks did what he could, and spinning the craft around he managed to spread the damage from the suicidal manned missiles across the shielding of the Daedalus, but even so shields had dropped precipitously and conduits began to spark and fail from the overloads.

Finally, with a burst of heavy railgun fire crisscrossing along the bow of the craft, the final 6 Darts in the air around Daedalus shattered and peace was relatively restored. The Daedalus was sparking now though, and trails of smoke and debris turned the area in space into almost a minefield.

"_Damage report Major."_

Marks' finger's flew across his console, reports from engineering, along with most other sections came flooding in and the news wasn't particularly good. _"Sir, Hyperdrive and Asgard Beams are offline. Sublights are at 87 percent. Shields are holding at 20 percent and rising slowly. Engineering reports that the damage is minor, and several power distribution grids will have to be replaced."_

Caldwell clicked his tongue._ Damn those pesky roaches. "ETA on repairs?"_

"_Hyperdrive will be another 20 minutes. Asgard Beams will be offline till they can replace the conduits between them and the reactor, an hour tops."_

With a heavy sigh, Caldwell prayed that Sheppard was having a higher level of success on the Hive. If it weren't for the rescue aspect of the mission, Caldwell was sure he'd be heading home by now. _"Very well Major, keep us at station keeping from the Hive and bring Missiles Launchers online. Don't want to get caught with our pants down."_

Marks smirked, glad that he was facing away from the Colonel. _"Yes sir. Getting it done." _He was more worried about the mental image of Caldwell with no pants on that had sprouted in his head, but by focusing on repairs and coordinating the teams, Marks figured he could keep from freaking out even worse.

------------------------------------------


	12. The Good, The Bad, and The

_**Chapter 11 – The Good, The Bad, and the…**_

------------------------------

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard**__: "Rodney… scan ahead, I was hoping we could avoid the obvious trap this time."_

_**Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay:**_ *_Scans_*_"Hmm… That's odd…"_

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard**_: _"If I had a nickel for every time I had to ask you this…"_

_**Specialist Ronon Dex:**_ _"He's right you know. Whatever a nickel might be."_

_**Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay:**_ _"Actually if I had a nickel for every time the two of you ganged up on me he'd owe me his first born. Where's Teyla when you need her…?"_

------------------------------

A/N: Next chapter will take awhile, waiting on my beta and my life has gotten incredibly busy with work and school. But I'm sooo happy with the new ending I've made.

Oh the fish rifle thing is just a joke I had with Chris Mitchell, he calls it that. :P

------------------------------

Alicia controlled her breathing, and tried to ignore the body of the stunned Marine laying ahead of her. The Wraith were slowly moving closer and heading towards him.

The Wraith had set up an ambush, and despite getting everyone out of the main meat grinder, they were pinned down now. Dusty was on the other side of the hallway laying down cover fire as Alicia reloaded her XM-8. _"Cap! I can get him outta there! I need cover!"_

Alicia yanked back the receiver and dove to the side next to Dusty. _"Go go go! I gotcha!"_

She raised her rifle and fired 4 long successive bursts, long enough for Dusty to get a hold of the fallen Marine and begin to drag him back. The 5.56 rounds from the XM-8 ricocheted and created a miniature house of flying bullets in the corridor. The Wraith Drones screamed and convulsed as they were torn to ribbons, even as Alicia felt the stunner bolts land dangerously close to her.

Dusty finally pulled the Marine Corporal back to their position, and reloading her Kriss Super V, tore the legs clean off a gutsy commander trying to reach the other Marine who was trapped in an alcove ahead of them.

Alicia held the trigger down on her XM-8, and within seconds the 100 round drum clip was exhausted. She leaned down and picked up the M4 Super 90 from the stunned Marine and muttered as she crept up next to Dusty. _"Fucking fish rifle…"_

Dusty fired, took out another Wraith commander with a trio of .45 caliber bullets to the chest that tore open his ribcage, then looked back to Alicia. _"Say whaat Cap?"_

Alicia sighted in on a Drone threatening her remaining Marine in tow, and tore it's right leg off with the double aught six buckshot. _"It's a rifle, it's fucked, and it looks like a fish!"_

Dusty had to fall back on her training to keep from doing a double take, and instead only shuddered in distaste. She moved ahead now that the passageway was clear. The other marine nodded in thanks and reloaded his P90 as he fell in behind her.

Alicia smirked, and pulling the ammo bandoleer and pouch from the fallen marine, dragged him into a darker alcove hoping it would give him enough cover to keep from being spotted as the moved forward. Once the jamming device was blown up, his subcutaneous transmitter would be the quickest way to get him to medical treatment.

-------------------------

"_Alright Sam… here it is. You've got multiple contusions all over, your right Achilles tendon is torn almost 10%, some of the musculature around your ankle is pretty tender too. Nothing a little'a the ol' Keller touch won't fix though."_

Sam smiled, but it was one of those _'It's not funny but I'm humoring you'_ smiles. _"How glad I am."_

Jennifer snickered and went over more of the list on the pad. _"As far as your noggin, a class three concussion, laceration on your frons." _Sam furrowed her brow at the strange word and Jennifer giggled. _"Oh sorry… channeling the old med student inside… Forehead!" _Sam rolled her eyes and sighed as she settled her head back listening to Jennifer. "…_and your hair is a complete mess…"_

To that Sam snickered, and despite feeling quite comfortable in the soft bed, still wished John was there. _"Don't remind me. I probably look a lot worse than I feel."_

Jennifer kept her smile, and sitting down next to Sam, sighed. _"I'm not surprised. Getting a footrub from Colonel Sheppard must have been… relaxing."_

Sam scoffed, and tried to play off the feeling inside. Why was Jennifer pressing so hard? _"Well… it was more for him to have something to do. John's not exactly the kind of guy who likes sitting around doing nothing."_

Jennifer made an inquisitive noise with her throat. _"'John'? I didn't know you two were on a first name basis."_

Sam blushed and made a frustrating murmur. _She'd been on a first name basis since she arrived!_ _"Jennifer… why are you grilling me so bad? Whatever happened to your Hippocratic oath?"_

Jennifer groaned at Sam's recrimination and gave her shoulder a squeeze in sympathy and a bit of apology. _"I'm sorry Sam… I guess I'm just… I dunno. When I saw John carry you out of the Jumper…"_

Sam saw she was hiding something, and apparently it had something to do with being trapped with someone. _"What are you talking about Jennifer? Seriously. Just tell me and stop torturing me."_

Jennifer murmured quietly, ostensibly considering whether to tell her or not. _"Well… remember back in the mining facility I told you I sorta had a moment with someone?"_

Sam nodded, and immediately knew that Jennifer wanted to know what her opinion was on getting to know someone like that. Especially after what had just transpired. The irony was a little raw. _"Yeah… I thought you said he didn't really do much and you were… confused."_

Jennifer nodded, and blew a heavy sigh. _"Yeah well… I guess I just want to see if it's just me or whether it could happen to someone else."_

Sam looked away, and realized Jennifer while being a complete master at medicine, was still a little socially awkward and was just looking for some guidance. How was Sam going to advise her if she herself was confused as hell over her own situation? _"Well… Doctor Patient confidentiality? I promise I won't tell anyone…"_

Jennifer smiled again, and drew in a deep breath. _"Alright… do you remember the Quarantine a few months ago…?"_

_--------------------------------_

"_Ha! Immelman!"_

Razor yelled it over the radio to his wingman Ox as he pulled the 302 into the sharp pitch. It was a pretty useless move against human pilots who had long ago learned to counter it, but everything old was new again against the Wraith, and seeing the Dart try and avoid the Phoenix 4 missile and still turn it into burning shards of metal was quite pleasing.

The Marines in the ground were having ridiculous success. With the 302s in the air, any emplacement the Wraith had in place was quickly taken down and large groups of the Wraith drones were simply turned to quivering blue meat by laser designated missile strikes.

'_Almost there… squash these roaches and you can hit the showers…'_

_-------------------------_

John and his team had moved ahead quickly, he'd noted instantly that despite the opening battle, there really weren't that many Wraith on this hive. Now outside the bridge, John wanted to make sure the breaching went off without a hitch. _"Rodney… scan ahead, I was hoping we could avoid the obvious trap this time."_

Rodney groaned softly and pulled the LSD out, he gave it a quick scan and murmured in confusion. _"That's odd…"_

John waited a second, and winced at the realization that he actually had to ask. _"If I had a nickel for every time I had to ask you this…"_

The marine next to Ronon chuckled idly as he kept a watchful eye for any targets, and Ronon himself smiled. _"He's right you know. Whatever a nickel might be."_

Rodney grumbled and put the LSD away. His righteous indignance was quite severe _"Actually if I had a nickel for every time the two of you ganged up on me he'd owe me his first born. Where's Teyla when you need her…?"_

John rolled his eyes and looked at him _"You'll have to wait awhile to collect! What'd you see?"_

Rodney shrugged in bemused shock. _"There's not many wraith! It's almost as if most of them attacked right at the start and all that's left is the crew. I'm only detecting 6 wraith on the Bridge!"_

John wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and flicked the safety off his shotgun. Ronon was the one who said his thoughts though. _"And that's bad… how?"_

"_I never said it was 'bad', just odd. But even stranger is I'm picking up human life signs moving around deeper in the ship."_

Ronon growled fiercely. _"Wraith worshippers…"_

John agreed and clicked his radio. _"Colonel Sheppard to Daedalus, come in."_

"_We read you Colonel."_

"_Be advised that there are most likely Wraith Worshipping humans on the ship. Recommend quarantine for any non Atlantean signals you beam back, over"_

Caldwell's voice remained as stony as ever. _"Copy that. Once the jamming signal is down we'll begin evacuation. Sitrep on controls?"_

Taking a peek inside, John saw the Wraith spread out pretty evenly. It wasn't going to be an easy fight. _ "Gettin' there… will advise when bridge has been taken."_

John ignored the reply from Daedalus and felt along his vest. All he could find were M-67 Frag Grenades. _"A few grenades should take em down."_

Rodney instantly moved forward and shook his hands frantically. _"No! No no no! I don't even know if my interface will work, let alone even connect to the Wraith Console, It definitely won't work if you blow it up!"_

John grumbled, and pointed to the Marine. _"Corporal, got any flashbangs?"_

The Corporal checked his vest, and pulled out two of them. _"We're in luck sir. Got a pair right here."_

John took one and motioned for the corporal to get on the other side of the passage way. _"Alright, I'll throw left, you throw right. On 3."_

The corporal nodded and crept over, he signaled he was ready and Rodney stood behind him unconsciously using him for cover. John took a deep breath and fought back the new wave of pain in his shoulder. He'd probably torn the muscle a bit more in the fight, but there wasn't much more John could do about it now.

John nodded and pulled the pin on the grenade, He made sure everyone was taking cover and in unison with the Marine, lobbed it in and covered his ears with his hands.

A few seconds passed, and a high pitched bang resounded through the corridor, even with his eyes closed John still felt the flash part of the bang through his eyelids.

As soon as the flash passed, John swung around and brought the shotgun to bear. The Wraith would only be momentarily stunned and they needed to act quickly.

John aimed for the commander nearest him; let the others deal with the drones, the shotgun was meant for stronger targets and the Commander qualified. He squeezed the trigger and a dozen pellets tore a basketball sized chunk out of the side of the commander. Another shot and the Wraith would never breath again.

John looked for the Queen, but she was nowhere to be found amidst the smoke of the dual grenades. He heard the others behind him open fire, and saw several drones and another Commander go down from combined fire.

Just as John moved forward towards the command console, a seething hiss followed by a screech of fury had him bring the shotgun to bear. It was pointless though, as a sudden blast of telekinetic energy sent John to the ground along with the rest of his team.

"_Seize them!"_

John groaned as he rolled on the floor, his chest and shoulder complained loudly even as he did, and as he looked around, the others didn't look much better. Ronon had shrugged off the psychic attack and now moved towards the opposite corridor with the Marine in tow, firing all the while. Rodney had ended up head over heels in a console and his legs flailed about in the air as he tried to get back to his feet.

John felt movement nearby, and fired the shotgun blind, he was rewarded with a satisfying splat and felt the spray of blood mist over his face as well as chunks of shredded Wraith temporarily blinding him. The commander had attempted to grab him and pure luck had saved John.

Just as he got up though, John felt something grab ahold of his shotgun and yank it forward, it was such a strong pull that it snapped the strap he was using and pulled his shoulder in the last direction he wanted to. John screamed in agony from the sudden tearing in his left shoulder and fell to the ground again in a hunched grimace.

John heard another scream, and a roar of fury amidst more stunner fire and the distinctive whine of Ronon's blaster. It didn't matter though, as John now felt a hand grab his throat and lift him to his feet.

It was the queen, She was using her psychic powers to draw John closer and there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to reach for his sidearm but his arms just wouldn't move. All John could see was the disturbingly satisfied look of the Wraith Queen's smile as she drew him nearer with a hand beckoning him.

It was utterly terrifying. The idea that he could very well die now, especially after what had happened on the Jumper with Sam… John didn't want to die…

With only a few feet left, and his shoulder screaming for Dr Keller, a sudden burst of fire from some unknown savior raked across the queen breaking her hold on John. He fell back from the sudden release, and groaned as he landed on something bulky that jabbed into his back bruising it. As luck would have it though, it turned out to the be Kriss Super V the Marine Ronon had gone with had dropped when he was stunned.

With Ronon covering one entrance, and McKay reloading his P90, John had only seconds before the queen recovered. So he grabbed the Kriss from beneath him and rolled over onto his stomach. John aimed quickly and held the trigger down with only one arm.

The .45 caliber rounds spat out at a ludicrous rate, the queen's half confused smile turned into a shocked grimace as the heavy bullets tore into her gut, pockmarking her with dozens of holes.

John didn't stop with only a burst though, he screamed in anguished rage as he unloaded the entire clip into the queen, bisecting the insectoid humanoid in a splattered gorefest. The queen fell to the ground in two separate pieces, still hissing and screaming in rage as her blood shot out from the severe injuries.

John dropped the Kriss again and drew his sidearm. Nothing else mattered and he aimed for the head. His Sig Sauer P229 quickly emptied it's 13 round clip, finally putting a period to the life of this Wraith Queen. Panting, he suddenly felt McKay next to him. Through the agony in his shoulder, and the quick sharp breaths he took, John felt a pang of necessity. _"Hey… thanks…guess I owe ya one."_

Rodney pulled out his tablet and began to work on the console behind the queen, now noting that Ronon had finished and moved to cover them as well _"Yeah well… let's call it a down payment for all the ones I owe you."_

John nodded idly, as he groaned and held his shoulder. Looking to Ronon he muttered._"Where'd you go?_

Ronon shrugged, and kept a watchful eye on the doorway. _"More Wraith outside, figured you'd be okay."_

John rolled his eyes and picked up the shotgun he'd dropped earlier. _"Great, your confidence in me is inspiring…" _John let out a breath, and thought about things other than the burning in his arm. _"Rodney… how's it going there?"_

Rodney began to make the connections he needed, and waved him off. _"Confusing, just give me cover for another minute or two."_

John decided to leave Rodney alone for now, and moved over to where the Marine had crumpled on the ground. Ronon kept close and low, his senses almost animalistic. _"He's a tough guy, took two stunner hits to take him down."_

"_Great, I'm sure he'll appreciate that." _John reached for his radio and winced at the sudden sharp pain in his shoulder.

Ronon noticed and immediately became protective. _"You okay Sheppard?"_

John took a deep breath, then reached with his other arm. _"Yeah I'll be fine…" _He clicked his radio to Daedalus's frequency and spoke _"This is Colonel Sheppard to Daedalus, Come in."_

A moment passed, and Caldwell's voice came through. _"We read you Sheppard. What's the situation?"_

John looked to Rodney who gave him a blustered look. _"Situation is we've secured the bridge for now, Major Lorne should still have the hanger bay under control. Any luck beaming yet?"_

"_No Dice Colonel, that jamming device is still online."_

John cursed under his breath, and switched frequencies. _"Captain Vega please come in."_

Ronon suddenly perked up and waved to John. _"We've got incoming."_

Even as Captain Vega's voice came in over the radio John couldn't help but mutter under his breath. _"Craaap!"_

_--------------------------_

"_Copy Colonel, We're right outside the Jamming device room."_

Alicia loaded the last shell she carried into the shotgun, a full 8 rounds left and she prayed it was enough.

"_Copy that! Faster is better!"_

Sheppard's voice was strained, and was highlighted by the sound of gunfire. Alicia realized that time was off the essence and she looked over to Dusty. _"Gotta hurry. Got any nades?"_

Dusty patted herself down, and shook her head. _"Sorry cap, used em all."_

The remaining marine called out _"Hey! I got 2 left."_

Alicia accepted the grenades, slung the shotgun around and motioned to her two comrades. _"Once they blow, breach and give me cover. I'll plant the C4."_

They nodded, and Alicia pulled the pins on the grenades with both hands. She let both safety pins clink off and dove for cover after she lobbed them into the room.

The explosion was impressive, smoke and shrapnel filled the large room creating a giant dicing machine. The 12 or so Wraith inside protecting the device were all either stunned from the blast or maimed, and were quickly brought down by P90 and Kriss Super V fire. Alicia kept low and pulled the dual brick of C4 from her vest as she neared the large cylindrical device.

Dusty knelt and put a burst into a corridor where a large pack of Wraith suddenly appeared. _"Cap! We've gonna get overrun!"_

Alicia quickly stuck the detonator into the brick of plastic explosives, then pulled out another and stuck it to the other brick she had. _"Fall back! This is gonna be big!" _She flung the second brick into the passage where the Wraith were coming and shouldered her shotgun.

Dusty rolled to the side, fired a burst from her Kriss Super V slicing a drone in half, then screamed as she suddenly took fire from behind. A trio of stunner bolts slammed into her back as a Wraith Commander had circled around and entered from the same passage they had.

The Marine saw her go down and aimed his P90 right at the Wraith. He didn't hold back and held the trigger down, turning the ballsy commander into a walking fountain of blood and gore before rushing forward and lashing out with a hip kick sending the quickly dying Wraith to the floor.

Alicia raised the shotgun and fired automatically. All 8 shells flew out and completely stonewalled the oncoming Wraith. The Marine Corporal had taken a hold of Dusty's collar and was dragging her away. Alicia got on Dusty's other side and with the two of them pulling, quickly got out of the room.

Alicia was panting hard, that was too close. She looked to the marine and nodded. _"Fire in the hole!!"_

_-------------------------------_

Major Marks had been trying to find a workaround for the jamming device on the Hive. He'd known that Hermiod and Novak had failed already, but he didn't put it beyond an attempt. So when the jamming signal suddenly abated, he ran a quick scan. _"Sir! The Jamming signal is down, we've got beaming capabilities back!"_

Caldwell scratched the end of his nose, and smirked. Before he could speak though, Captain Vega's voice came in under obvious duress and highlighted with the sounds of Wraith screaming and gunfire. _"Captain Vega to Daedalus! Jamming is down, We need emergency beam out now now now! Do it do it do it!"_

The Colonel looked to Major Marks and nodded. _"Do it Major, and anyone else that isn't moving and is human."_

Marks quickly scanned and got to work. _"Yes Sir!"_

_-----------------------_

"_So he hasn't done anything?"_

Jennifer shrugged, and sighed in confusion. _"No… it's strange. I don't know whether he just doesn't like me or… maybe he's scared."_ Jennifer laughed in disbelief, in truth she was worried Ronon had maybe been like all the others and tried to use her.

Sam felt the same. _"Wow… it almost makes sense… He's killed more Wraith than any of us combined, and he's brought to his knees by beauty and youth." _Sam giggled, it was pretty funny to think of.

Jennifer rolled her eyes and set up the IV into Sam's arm. _"Yeah well… I'm so confused. I don't know what to do next or whether it was just the cabin fever…" _Jennifer noted Sam's expression and lowered her voice. _"Sam… what happened on that Jumper?"_

Sam sighed, trying to look exasperated. _"I told you! Nothing!"_

Jennifer rolled her eyes and muttered something silently to herself before speaking. _"Right… you know, I saw you two when you came out of that Jumper… I don't know what you two did but Sam… it's obvious something happened."_

Sam kept quiet, and kept to her story. _"Nothing! We just… we just talked…"_

Jennifer finally decided to play her trump card. _"Oh really? __**Just**__ talked huh?"_

Sam nodded, not realizing what Jennifer had decided to do. _"We joked around, talked about things, played a few games to pass the time…"_

Jennifer smirked. _"Kissed?"_

Sam's face tightened just a bit, how had Jennifer found out!? _"What?! No!!"_

"_Oh yes you did. I found his DNA on your lips when I scanned you. Doctor Patient Confidentiality remember?"_

Sam's eyes grew wide, and then she felt a tinge of blush hit her cheeks as well as a little anger. _"Uhh… well…" _Jennifer's knowing grin, and the fact that the curtain was drawn and no one was around made Sam just barely decide to not kill someone today. _"Alright! Yes… we… we kissed… but it's not what you're thinking!"_

Jennifer kept her devious grin, She hadn't actually scanned specifically but decided to run a gamble and won. Jennifer whispered as she opened the IV to Sam's arm with the sedative inside. She'd gotten what she wanted, the rest could wait till Sam was feeling better. _"I'm sure it's not… but what happened with that older senator guy in Washington?"_

The sedative wouldn't take effect for another few minutes, so Sam simply sighed and looked away. _"Yeah well… I'm not going back for a real long time…"_ She turned back and stared at Jennifer hard._ "But it's not like I'm going to just…!" _Sam resisted lunging and strangling the doctor, and instead threw her unIV'd arm in frustration._ "God you're so frustrating sometimes you know that!?"_

Jennifer grinned from ear to ear. _"Guilty as charged. I guess I've annoyed you enough. I'm honestly just a tiny bit jealous… what was it like?"_

Sam winced, and started to feel the sedative begin to put her to sleep. _"What? What was what like?"_

"_Kissing Colonel Sheppard… I bet he's a good kisser… a little old for me but I think you have good taste."_

Sam realized that the drugs entering her system would soon put her out, and she decided to try and downplay what Jennifer already knew. _"Yeah well… it's not like anything's gonna come of this… just a little cabin fever and well… I guess I just wanted to know what it was like to kiss him since I'm never gonna get another chance." _

It was the most believable lie Sam could come up with… except… was it a lie? All she wanted to do was throw Jennifer off the trail and seeing the somewhat dejected expression she gave Sam, it was working. _"Well… that is true… how do you guys deal with those frat laws? They're so strict."_

Sam was going to answer, but the blissful peace of narcotic pain relievers was just too much. All she could do was thank whatever deity smiled on her to keep Jennifer from finding out the whole story. While Jennifer was a friend, and probably the only woman she could have "girl talk" with on Atlantis, there was no way in hell Sam was going to say even an iota more of what happened on the Jumper… or even that Sam wasn't sure that it was going to end there.

-------------------------------

That had been too close. John's shoulder burned and ached, his chest pulsated from the massive bruises on them. John wasn't too sure he would just pass out from the pain or blood loss.

The wraith had been stonewalled, and John's ammo was running low. He'd policed all the stunned Marine's ammo and radioed Caldwell to beam him back. He vanished in a massive flash of light and the three men were left alone on the Wraith Hive bridge.

Rodney was still working hard trying to get the computer system to hook up, but it was obvious that things weren't going well. John muttered as he softly panted trying to regain some level of composure that didn't include screaming in agony from his wounds. _"How much longer Rodney? We won't hold this position for long."_

Rodney's voice was comically indignant. _"This is not easy you know! This is like trying to network a Mac to a PC and the server is Linux AND there's no networking standards!"_

Ronon scrunched his face, completely confused with what Rodney had said. John sighed emphatically and rubbed his shoulder as he fought back a grimace. _"Don't even start that Rodney… PC's clearly win."_

Rodney made a few direct connections to the wiring of the console and muttered. _"Oh? Have you ever even tried using a Mac? Makes Vista seem like a bloated snail."_

John moved over to the nearest Wraith commander dead on the floor and relieved him of his stunner. He tossed it to Ronon who plucked it out of the air. _"I dunno, I think if you start making direct attack commercials you feel threatened."_

"_Are you talking about those hipster and dorky business guy commercials!? Those are genius!"_

John rolled his eyes and tried to pick up another stunner, but the scorch in his shoulder made him wince and think twice. _"Please, Mac's are for pretentious wannabes who think an Apple logo is gonna make em look smart. Real computer whiz's use Linux or any of those crazy Sambuntu OS's."_

Rodney seemed to be taking offense to John's line of reason. Ronon simply tried to tune out the inane argument and focus on keeping the Wraith off the bridge. It was almost standard operating procedure for John to bicker with Rodney like this, but it served a purpose, it kept Rodney's mind off the imminent and quite probable doom they were in.

"_Oh of course you'd say that, You're like the pretentious rebel as oxymoronic as that sounds! Figures you'd like PC's, they're made for Neanderthals…"_

John chuckled, and waved Ronon over as he planted a C4 charge down one of the corridors they'd been guarding. John noticed Ronon's grimace and recalled that he hated the word Neanderthal when used in his presence. _"We're gonna blow this corridor, keep an eye on the other Chewy."_ Ronon grunted positive in reply, and moved out. John yelled back to Rodney. _"Oh I don't know about that Rodney… I'm more Cro-Magnon than anything else. 'sides, aren't I technically more evolved than you?"_

Ronon was going crazy. He'd heard these arguments so often but he hated when he didn't understand a word of what was going on. Although from the way Rodney was getting more and more agitated, John was clearly winning.

Rodney grunted in exasperation, and made one of the final connections he'd need to try his new bypass. _"Oh sure, bring that up whenever you're losing the argument. Just so you understand me, you're like a stock Windows Vista and I'm XP with all three service packs. You might be flashy but I'm way more stable!"_

John smiled and motioned to Rodney that he was about to set off the C4. Rodney took cover and cowered with his hands over his ears.

The explosion was impressive, but nothing dangerous to any of the bridge occupants. As soon as the smoke cleared, John rolled his eyes at Rodney's point and muttered. _"Stable? Didn't you once tell me you couldn't figure out how get iTunes to work on Atlantis and nearly went insane?"_

Rodney reacted before he could think, something John was hoping for. _"That wasn't my fault! Besides there's only an internet connection whenever we dial Earth and it's never more than 5 minutes! It's Apple's fault for making such a…"_

Ronon had finally had enough, Another word and he'd stun them both, claim the Wraith did it and told Colonel Caldwell just to blow this Hive to hell. His scream was completely unrestrained. _"For God's sakes shut up! That elder on PX8 241 was right! You two **ARE **married! Just shut up for once! SHUT UP SHUT UP __**SHUT UP!**__"_

Rodney blushed heavily, obviously embarrassed by Ronon's recalling of the incident. Scrambling out of a chicken coop covered in feathers and broken eggs as well as dozens of peck marks was not something one forgot easily. His only real consolation through the ordeal was that John had pulled the punch and only given him a very minor headache. Of course he'd never say that. _"Oh come on! I thought we agreed we'd never speak of that again!"_

John smirked at the memory, and waved his hand calming them both down. _"Alright alright… calm down kiddies, Rodney, can you get it to work or not?"_

Ronon seemed appeased now that he had that off his chest, and focused on the corridor, Rodney on the other hand began to tap in commands into the tablet and was soon rewarded with Wraith symbols scrolling across. _"Wait… there we go! Yes! I've got it! We've got access!"_

John nodded now and felt that maybe things were going to be going well. He radioed Lorne. _"Major Lorne, This is Colonel Sheppard. Be advised we've taken control of the ship. Get the jumpers back to Daedalus and begin processing the people we've beamed back, expect Wraith Worshippers."_

Major Lorne quickly acknowledged. _"Yes Sir! We're pulling back. See ya back on the barn." _

A few moments passed, and John was relatively sure that they were actually done and what was left was to exterminate whatever Wriath were left on the ship. Of course, in the Pegasus Galaxy, timing was something of a novelty.

An alarm started to sound off, and on the Tablet's screen the symbols scrolling across became jagged and almost aggressive. _"Rodney! What the hell is going on!?"_

Rodney tapped some keys on the tablet, and quickly turned white with shock. _"Oh my god…"_

Ronon screamed as he still covered the exit. _"What!? What's happening!?"_

Rodney tapped another control and on the Wraith viewscreen an image resolved, John's heart instantly began to thump harder and faster as Rodney narrated the events. _"A Wraith Cruiser just jumped into the system… It's charging weapons…"_


	13. An Act Of

_**Chapter 12 – An Act Of …**_

--------------------------

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard:**__ "Rodney… scan… more wraith…"_

_**Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay:**_ _"Yeah… yeah…" __***Scans***__ "Oh god… there's dozens... they're all moving towards us…We need to get out of here!"_

_**Specialist Ronon Dex:**__ "You always say that."_

_**Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay:**_ _"That's because I'm always right!"_

--------------------------

"_Major! Full evasive! Get us behind the Hive for cover!"_

Caldwell knew damn well that his ship was in bad shape. Normally a Wraith Cruiser would be mincemeat after a few shots from their plasma beams, but with only Railguns and Missiles, and shields badly drained, it was more than a fair fight.

Major Marks quickly inputted a course, and targeted the cruiser with the aft tubes of Trident V Rocket Boosted Missiles. _"Yes Sir! Evasive pattern laid in."_

Caldwell watched as his crew moved with efficient haste. The situation was serious, but he was confident that tactics would get them through this alive and in one piece.

Marks noticed immediately the plasma batteries on the Cruiser charge up and fire, he called it out as he spun the craft around. _"Incoming Fire!"_

Caldwell growled and kept his voice low. _"Fire everything we've got."_

_--------------------------_

The Wraith Commander felt refreshed, anew, and even a little excited. Ten thousand years was a long time, especially since the closest thing to a real fight they ever got was the Runner's they'd occasionally picked out for sport. So few were left that provided any real challenge.

Space is where he enjoyed battle, like when he first commanded a hive so many years ago against the Lanteans themselves, leading dozens of craft against the technologically superior race. Slowly he had taken them to the brink, and only the submerging of Atlantis had saved it for these new inhabitants of the city of the Ancestors.

"_Sheppard… what are you doing here?"_

His subcommander stood behind him, watching impassively as the dried husk of a recent meal was dragged away from the bridge. _"Commander, the Atlantis Craft is severely damaged from it's engagement with the Hive. Our attempts at communication with the Hive have failed and our scans indicate human presence on board."_

The Wraith commander idly watched as the Daedalus took a position on the far side of the hive, hiding. _"Form a network connection with the Hive. I want to know what they were doing here."_

"_At once."_

It was an odd sight, the Atlantis craft was armed with intensely powerful Asgard weaponry. The Asgard in Pegasus were long ago brought to their knees by the Wraith and posed little threat to them. The fact that the Daedalus was damaged made this a more interesting fight. _"Bring us around the hive, target the human craft and open fire with main batteries."_

Another sub-commander, this one much younger growled with pleasure. _"Yes Commander, shall I sortie our Darts?"_

The Wraith commander thought about it for a moment. While it was possible they could defeat the humans and take both their people and craft, they had the uncanny ability to get out of situations that should have been their end. The Wraith Commander was brave, but not stupid. _"No, we will not be launching a full assault. Harrass the craft while I download the Hive's memory banks."_

A moment's hesitation, and the sub-commander complied. The shortage of livestock had created a power schism, and higher ranked commanders and queens were not above feeding on their subordinates. _"Yes Commander, moving into position." _The cruiser soared ahead and above the Hive, firing it's plasma banks. Daedalus returned fire. _"Commander, enemy craft is returning fire with magnetically propelled mass drivers as well as solid fuel rocket weaponry. Outer hull is taking damage."_

The Wraith commander managed to form a stable link to the Hive, and now had access to the computer system. _"Set anti-fighter turrets to point defense. Evasion before aggression."_

Again a sense of hesitation. The Wraith Commander had noticed that his subordinates were becoming more and more insubordinate and realized he might have to do something about that… later though, as right now he had encountered a problem.

A firewall… security access required… It wasn't a Wraith system either. The new Lanteans, most likely McKay were on board and had managed to access the system without a Wraith. This complicated things.

The Wraith Commander had noticed a weakness in McKay's codes while working with the man on his home planet, a place with so much food it would feed his clan for timeless ages, a place that he would soon claim for his own.

For now though, he quickly subverted McKay's code and inserted a logic bomb that would trigger the ship's self destruct should the engines turn on. 3 minutes would give the new Lanteans plenty of time to evacuate… and give the illusion it was simply a defensive system and not the Cruiser's intervention.

The ship rocked to the side, and the Wraith commander looked up at his Sub-Commander. _"Report!"_

"_Commander! A dozen smaller craft have entered orbit from the planet and are targeting our weapons systems! They are using smaller mass drivers and Naquadah enhanced bombs. Outer Hull has been compromised, emergency force fields are holding!"_

Not much time, They could sortie their Darts, but more than likely all of them would be destroyed. The Darts could be replaced though… _"Launch our Darts! Use the Hive to give us cover from the larger craft!"_

No hesitation, the Hive was an enemy clan's and when the Wraith Commander had received the automated distress call not long ago, he'd been looking forward to humiliating their queen. With this new development however, he needed information before ensuring the Hive did not fall into the hands of the Earth Born humans.

With McKay's firewall circumvented, the Wraith Commander quickly scanned the most recent log entries.

Interesting… this Hive was actually suffering from a new and strange attack. On their last mass culling operation, many of the people they captured were immune to feeding, but even more so, attempting to feed on them proved only fatal to the Wraith as they quickly succumbed to a horrible wasting death.

The Wraith Commander had heard of this before… but only in passing. Those people had long since been annihilated. Could it be that the Earth Born Humans were responsible for this attack? They certainly had the knowledge and motive to do so.

But there was more, this Hive had intimate knowledge of another Wraith, one derogatively called "Michael" after an incident with the Atlantis Expedition left him in a strange half human and half Wraith hybridization. They seemed to think this aberration was capable of this too but had no clue as to it's wherabouts.

The Hive also suspected the Atlantis expedition, and the most recent log entry showed that a Worshipper hiding on the planet had signaled them that the Atlantis Expedition, as well as their most senior leaders were on the planet negotiating a trade agreement. Darts were dispatched immediately, and the Hive arrived soon after.

There was more, but another shake brought the commander back to light of the situation. _"Damage Report!"_

The same sub-commander, now growling in fury barked back. _"They've changed their target! The main human craft has moved into a parabolic course and is targeting our hyperdrive!"_

Time to go, another battle, and another day would wait for these humans. And as ironic as it seemed, they had been saved from certain death by the will of "Todd."

Little did "Todd" know though, that his decision to abandon the remaining Darts, and not fully commit to the battle with the New Lantean humans when the chance was there to actually win, would cost him the loyalty of his closest followers who had noticed the obvious familiarity he had with the Lantean computer systems and in specific their codes.

The Sub-Commander would soon take his rightful place, and show the old ones what new and young bravado could do in the place of old stagnation. Earth… and their entire galaxy would soon be theirs.

--------------------------

"_What do you mean 'They're gone!'?"_

Rodney shot Sheppard an exasperated look. _"I mean, they're gone! As in no longer with us, not orbiting the planet anymore, and best of all, not shooting as us anymore!"_

Ronon growled as he watched the replay of the Cruiser escaping into hyperspace leaving it's dart complement to be mopped up by the 302's and Daedalus. _"Cowards."_

John wasn't too sure though. Nothing about that engagement felt right but for the moment, it seemed like he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. _"And you're sure they didn't do anything to this Hive?"_

Rodney nodded quickly, and typed furiously on the tablet. _"Yes, Yes! This system is so bypassed I doubt they could even figure out how to link up to such a jumbled system apart from the firewall I put up. I'm copying the log entries to see if we can figure out what brought the hive here."_

A scream in the corridor told them that something was coming. _"Sheppard! Incoming!"_

John's shoulder was aching, his chest was burning, and his vision had become blurry. He looked to Rodney. _"How long do you need to download those logs?"_

Rodney jittered slightly as he reloaded his P-90, and shrugged as he prepared himself for combat. _"Umm… two… maybe three minutes."_

John rolled his eyes and shook his head as he took a position by the doorway. _"Work fast, I don't think we'll last long here."_

Ronon growled and unclasped his sword on his back. _"Speak for yourself."_

There's a saying that the calm before the battle is the hardest part. That's usually said just to distract you from the fact that weapons fire is zooming past you not even inches from your face.

John certainly had long ago stopped thinking that as he sighted in on the first drone and put him down with a mighty blast from his shotgun. A duet of plasma blasts from Ronon's blaster put his twin down with searing wounds on it's chest.

-----------------------

"_Damage report Major."_

Marks sighed as he surveyed the second set of damage statistics in the same number of hours. _"Not as bad as before Sir. No damage to the hull, only drained shields. They bugged out before we could do more than superficial damage either."_

Caldwell breathed a sigh of relief. Today was just getting more and more chaotic. _"Guess they didn't want to risk losing. Recall our fighters and begin recovery procedures for the gate on the planet."_

"_Yes sir, Jumper 3 has already begun to reorient the gate and we should be getting reinforcements from Atlantis within 10 minutes."_

Caldwell stood, and looked around his bridge, everyone was tight and frosty, but there was something in the air… something that as a long time commander Caldwell had learned to distrust. _"Very good Major. Keep our weapon's systems hot."_

Marks nodded, he could feel the tension in the air as well. _"Yes sir."_

_-------------------------_

The Benneli Shotgun was chosen for it's ease of use, high ammo capacity, varied ammunition, and reliability.

It also made for a decent club as John brought the butt down on the Wraith Commander's head who'd taken a shot from Ronon's blaster already and refused to simply die.

The fight to hold the bridge was getting more chaotic, and John was about to call Daedalus for EVAC. Ronon kept fighting at a ridiculously efficient level, spinning around with his blade in one hand, and his blaster in the other. John had forced his brain to disassociate the pain in his arm and kept firing, reloading, and using his feet and the butt of the shotgun to fight off the invaders.

The bodies lying on the floor of the corridor served surprisingly well as a sort of blockade preventing more Wraith from getting in easily. It was gruesome to think of, but John certainly didn't wish it any other way.

Rodney had set the tablet to automatic, and joined the fight using his P90 to some effect. Between the three of them, no Wraith had managed to get in. The final Wraith Commander spat out blood as Ronon put a plasma bolt between his shoulder blades, severed his feeding arm with a hard swipe of his blade, and finally kicked him down and into a wall putting the Wraith out of it's short lived misery.

John was getting delirious, his entire left shoulder had gone numb, and he could feel the swelling engorge his arm. Keller was going to ream the hell out of him but it had been worth it. The Hive was theirs. _"Rodney… scan… more wraith…"_

With the adrenaline in his system, Rodney made no mention of his broken speech. _"Yeah… yeah…"_ He quickly used the LSD to check, and grimaced. _"Oh god… there's dozens... they're all moving towards us…We need to get out of here."_

Ronon muttered. _"You always say that."_

Rodney freaked back. _"That's because I'm always right!"_

John panted, and idly reloaded his shotgun. _"Does the bridge have an airtight bulkhead?"_

Rodney furrowed his brow. _"What? What are you thinking?"_

Ronon caught on quickly and helped Sheppard up despite complaints from the injured man. _"Wraith need to breathe too."_

Rodney caught and nodded with a sudden smile. _"Yes… Yes! Vent the atmosphere! I'll get right on it!"_

John fought off Ronon's help, and cocked the shotgun with the last shells he had. _"If you can't do it, tell us. I'm not dying for a hive."_

Both Rodney and Ronon looked at John strangely, it wasn't often the man spoke like that and it scared them both. Rodney quickly got to work and began to figure out someway of venting the atmosphere without killing them all.

"_Sheppard! More Wraith!"_

John growled and took aim. His stance was shaky, his arms trembled in pain, but he still managed to blow the Wraith commander leading the charge back into his troops with a ribcage shredding blast of buckshot to his chest. Ronon's blaster fired almost on automatic, each hit digging searing burns into the Wraith they hit.

John aimed, fired, repeated. Ronon screamed as he prepared to lunge forward. _"Die!"_

It was so fast that John could have missed it if he weren't paying attention. One second he's aiming at a Drone, the next he's screaming as the shotgun was torn from his hands.

A Wraith Commander had broken through the lines and was on the bridge. He'd ripped the shotgun from John's arms and swiped him across the face with the back of his hand. John fell against the bulkhead and groaned in pain.

For the second time in 3 days, John was moments from being fed on, and this time the Wraith wasn't already badly wounded. It hissed as it raised it's feeding hand and prepared to bring it down on him.

So when the hand suddenly fell and instead of penetrating his chest, landed in a separate heap coating John's pants with dark blue Wraith blood. He was just a little more than appreciative.

"_Raaarrrgghh!"_

Ronon had cleanly sliced off the Wraith's hand, his primal scream indicative of his rage. and had his sword ready to lop it's head off when Rodney's sudden war-cry shocked them all. _"Sheppard! Nooo!!! Arrrggghhh!!" _

John watched in almost pitched curiosity as the Wraith standing above him was suddenly riddled with bullets, each pushing him back just slightly and tearing his stylish leather trenchcoat apart. The creature remained standing throughout most of the ordeal, it's ribs and internal organs suddenly visible through the spewing gore.

It took the entire clip from Rodney's P-90 to put him down, but John couldn't help but feel a little deja-vu. _"Ha ha ha… least I didn't get shot this time…"_

Ronon quickly kneeled and tossed the severed Wraith hand to the side. Rodney helped pull John up and held him by his shoulders. _"Sheppard!? Sheppard come on! We're safe now! I got the atmosphere venting and there's a forcefield around us."_

John chuckled mindlessly. His body _ached_. The pained cries from his shoulder called for Dr Keller's midas touch… and the rest of his body for… well that was something else entirely. John would rather face a column of Wraith with just his shotgun instead of dealing with the potential elephant in the room that housed he and Sam's relationship. _"So I'm not gonna die? Oh goody. Here I was about to tell you to take care of my Johnny Cash Poster."_

Rodney grimaced and moaned dejectedly. _"Oh god don't even think that! We're alright… I had to divert some power to ensure only the bridge's forcefields would work but we should be okay."_

John figured he was right, and as he looked to the corridor he saw an opaque field where the threshold to the bridge was. _"Great… what was that about diverting power?"_

Rodney shook his head and tried to comfort John as best he could. John couldn't help but wish that it was Sam's hands instead and laughed absentmindedly. _"Oh really really complicated stuff, bouncing energy to weapons, hull integrity, engines… nothing you need to care or worry about."_

As if highlighting just how wrong Rodney was, yet another alarm began to sound, this one much more incessant and furious. _"Oh great, Murphy's law strikes again…"_

Rodney quickly let Ronon take over helping John up, and when he got to the tablet his yelp was none too reassuring. _"Oh Crap! Oh Crap Crap crap crap CRAAAP!"_

John was way too out of it to care. He'd likely lost a lot of blood in his arm and his chest pulsated with pain every time his heart beat. Ronon screamed back as he held John up. _"What!? What's wrong!?"_

Rodney turned to them with his trademarked face of shock and awe. _"Self-destruct… less than 3 minutes…"_

John rolled his eyes and started chuckling. _"Figures…" _He took a hold of his radio even as Ronon steadied him. _"Daedalus… this is Sheppard. We've just overstayed our welcome and the hotel's about to blow up. Request immediate beam out."_

John was way beyond trying to stay coherent. All he wanted was morphine and Sam cuddled up next to him… Damn it was hard to admit that.

Caldwell's voice was suddenly alarmed. _"Colonel Sheppard! We can't get a good lock on you, the venting procedure placed a forcefield around your area!"_

Ronon grunted and hit his own radio. _"Can't you shoot through it?"_

"_What and hit us with a few tons of explosive power! Nah-uh! Don't think so! Try suggesting something that isn't going to get us killed in the most horrible way imaginable! " _Rodney making sense was always dangerous.

John retreated into his own mind, his last conscious thought the ticker on Rodney's tablet that said **2:44.**

Forcefield… Prevents beaming.

The same forcefield is keeping them alive right now, keeping the atmosphere in the bridge instead of the cold hard vacuum of the rest of the hive ship.

**2:30**

Logic… Logic would get him through this. Rodney was behaving very irrationally. He was slamming his fist into the console in some vain attempt to show his frustration at not being able to find a solution.

**2:14**

Logically, the forcefield had to come down, but from Rodney's almost incoherent screams, something was keeping him from doing it. Apparantly when the airlocks vented, the forcefield became a critical system and would not disengage until a complete air cycle was run. The computer was telling him that it would take 10 minutes to do that if they started now.

**1:58**

Logic, think of numbers John… **1:55** left. Ronon and Rodney screaming at something like 60 decibels, the pain in your arm something like a weeks worth of infirmary stay… the power used in creating that forcefield…

"_Rodney… power!"_

Rodney looked at John like he was insane. And seeing the pained look behind his eyes realized that he was being serious.

**1:35**

"_What!? What are you talking about Sheppard?!"_

John fought off the pain, he clawed through the fugue in his mind and asked his question clearly. _"If Daedalus takes out the Hive's reactor,will the blast reach us before the forcefield can come down?"_

Rodney took a moment to think

**1:17**

"_Yes! No… Maybe… I don't know dammit! But it might work! The power grid would go down first and Daedalus might be able to get a lock on us!"_

John didn't hesitate and clicked his radio. _"Sheppard to Daedalus! Take out the Hive's Reactor! You should get a clean lock after that! You've got less than a minute! Do it!"_

_--------------------------_

"_You heard the Colonel Major, Open fire!"_

Marks enjoyed firing the Daedalus's weapons. The rate at which the 10mm tungsten rounds fired made most other space borne weapons look pathetic in visual comparison. He could fill the entire sky with burning metal at a moment's notice.

But now, as time was a constraint, he ignored the visual spectacle and focused on inputting targeting data for the ship's Trident V missiles.

"_Major…"_

Caldwell could yell and threaten all he wanted to, but without Asgard Beams it was up to the Railguns to chip away at the dense organic armor of the Hive. A trio of missiles spat out and cruised down towards the massive craft.

Marks may have missed the spectacle of the shower of railgun fire, but as the three missiles impacted and the reactor core of the Hive was penetrated, the brilliant flash of light blinded everyone on the bridge.

"_Get them out! Now!!"_

No one could see exactly who did it, but as the falsh receded, and the Hive suddenly split like a twisted banana unfurling amidst a massive explosion, a second smaller flash got everyone's attention.

Ronon and Dr McKay were helping Sheppard even stand, the man looked pale and almost zombie like. Ronon and Rodney both started screaming at the same time. _"Medic!"_

"_Sheppard needs help!"_

Caldwell checked his eye roll. Sheppard might be a bit of a loose cannon, but the man had a dangerously high pain threshold.

----------------------------------

Sam was only half conscious when they brought him in, Ronon carried him in his arms and laid him down gently on a stretcher while half a dozen medics along with Dr Keller began to work on him.

She tried to yell, tried to get someone's attention to tell her how the man was doing. But her cries came out only as muted whispers, at which orderlies and even Rodney shushed her and told Sam to rest.

It was torture. Seeing Dr Keller close off the curtain around John Sheppard… seeing the blood stains splat against the inside of the curtain making opaque splotches.

Sam wanted to cry. Something had happened to John and she didn't know what. Every once in awhile she heard a loud groan and invariably Dr Keller asking for more suction, more morphine, or in a particularly dreadful moment, blood and plasma.

Finally she could speak loud enough to be heard, almost 2 hours of agonizing silence and watching. Rodney was nearby and she reached out and took his sleeve. _"Rod…ney..."_

Rodney was visibly scared, he looked down at Sam in her drugged state and sighed to suppress his fear. _"Sam… you should sleep."_

Sam shook her head slightly, then tried to talk, the words came out jilted and chaotic. _"Hive… happened… Sheppard?"_

Rodney understood her easily, and patted her hand down to the bed. _"It's gone… the hive's self-destruct went off and we barely got out. Sheppard…"_

Sam knew it was bad, the man _always_ ended up hurt. _"Is... he…"_

Rodney nodded quickly and breathed a little harder. _"It's impossible to be his friend. I don't know how the man can play chicken with the grim reaper so often…"_

Sam didn't pay attention to Rodney's continuing rant. She knew the man cared about John and… the worst part is he was being honest. Sam could tell being friends with John Sheppard was a dangerous game to play. It terrified her to think of what being more with him would be like.

Finally, the curtain to where John was being operated on opened and Dr Keller came out, her apron was splotched with blood, and her face was resigned. Rodney instantly shot forward and peppered her with questions.

Sam couldn't hear them. All she could see was Dr Keller sighing, and looking almost dejected. Rodney seemed to shirk down as well, either depressed or relieved… Sam just couldn't tell from their body language.

Rodney looked away from Doctor Keller, she seemed to be raising her voice to him and Sam caught bits and pieces as it carried. _"Rodney! ...let him go!... His… bad enough… picked… he's so lucky… dead he's lost so … blood… okay… but please… please don't… Sam… close … was."_

"_What? Why?"_

"…_let him go, she knew… bad… was hurt … let him go, I… want… think … is … fault. It's his own damn fault for insisting on being a hero!"_ Jennifer almost screamed the last bit, sending Rodney into a near cower. She walked away and began to peel away her apron in obvious rage. Rodney looked back to Sam and cautiously approached her.

The tears were there, in reserve just waiting for the assumption to become fact. He'd lost too much blood… he must have been attacked on the hive and his muscles must have bled out. Exsanguination… the medical term. Sam could see his pale face in her imagination… never moving again… never teasing her again. It was cruel fate that made her a black widow, any man she felt anything more than platonic for invariably ended up dead or more than just heartbroken.

"_Sam…"_

Sam couldn't help it, she drew in a sharp breath and looked Rodney in the eyes. _"He's…"_

Rodney interrupted her, something she suddenly became thrilled about. _"Sheppard's gonna be okay. His arm's gonna be in a sling for a week but once we're back on Atlantis he should be fine."_

Sam winced hard. For a moment she thought that maybe the curse had failed, but knowing Sheppard's ability to get into certain death scenarios, knew it was more his own curse than hers that threatened him. _"That's… good."_

Nothing else mattered now but rest. John was alright, She'd be alright with a few days rest… but were… _they_ alright?

-----------------------

When the orderlies wheeled him in, he was hooked up to an oxygen tank and his left arm was in a fiberglass sling attached to a hook above holding it steady. His EKG and heart rate were slow, but acceptable.

Sam couldn't sleep. Atlantis was only an hour away and soon they'd be back home. John had recovered enough that he could be lett alone to sleeo and for some _incomprehensible _reason _*wink wink*_, Dr Keller had decided to put him next to Sam and close the curtains to give them some privacy.

Sam appreciated what Jennifer was doing, but it was still much too volatile to even consider what was going to happen.

He looked peaceful, his chest slowly rising and falling with his gentle breathing. Sam wanted to talk to him, god she just wanted to get things clear between them… but all could force herself to do was just make sure he was alright. _"John…"_

The man didn't respond, he seemed to be unconscious but his body moved slowly, almost as if it were responding to her voice. _"John…"_

He turned his head slowly, and John's eyes opened a crack. _"Hey… " _His voice was criminally weak. _"guess we're bunkmates."_

Sam sniffled as she snickered. Yep. John was gonna be okay. _"Guess we are…" _The insinuation going through both of their minds was ignored, what mattered at the moment was that they were alive. Except… Sam wanted to show that what happened in the Jumper wasn't over yet. After thinking John was dead, Sam wanted to make damn sure that he knew this wasn't over. _"Hey… John…"_

Sam held out her left hand, John saw he outstretched arm in a caring gesture. He moaned softly as he stuck out her right arm, it trembled under obvious stress and John gently wrapped his hand around hers.

Neither needed to say anything, and they only held hands for a moment. It was the reassuring instant they needed to know for a fact that everything was going to be alright no matter what happened between them.

A few minutes after, Major Lorne entered the semi-private room and sat down. John's voice had come back and he chuckled seeing the Major smiling. _"So Major… guess Atlantis is yours till we get away from Dr Keller's dungeon."_

Lorne chuckled and sighed. _"Guess this is good practice for my promotion."_

Sam rolled her eyes and blew the hair out of her eyes. _"That's... mildly disturbing seeing as both of us are laid up… I'll remember that during your performance review."_

Lorne smiled, completely unafraid. _"Well then it's time for the good news. We caught the Wraith Worshippers who ratted us out."_

Sheppard furrowed his brow and pushed himself up to look at the Major better. _"Oh? So how bad did you have to flog him?"_

Sam knew he was kidding. Even a galaxy away, the heart and soul of human rights still existed for the Atlantis Expedition. _"Remember Major, your answer will show up on your review."_

Lorne yawned and stretched his stiff neck. _"Well… this might take a few minutes to explain…"_

_---------------------------------_

_A/N: Ah yes, all that is left is my infamous Lorne Interrogation. It will be… Interesting to say the least._

_After that, the Epilogue, which is COMPLETELY different from the Original. _


	14. ForLorne Hope

**Chapter 13 – ForLorne Hope**

----------------------

_**Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard: **"Why is he still a Major?"_

_**Colonel Samantha Carter:**_ _"The SGC doesn't need anymore certifiable Colonels wandering about the cosmos causing wanton mayhem... present company excluded."_

----------------------

_A/N: I always thought they didn't give Lorne enough focus. So this entire Chapter is dedicated to the sarcastic soldier :P Sorry for the wait folks, but I've been busy with real life alas._

_-------------------------_

They had captured him… but they didn't know who he was.

He was hiding at the time, from both the Atlanteans and the Wraith… in a situation like that it was perfectly possible they would feed on him to gain the strength to fight off the invasion.

When instead he had been almost magically transported from the Hive to the middle of this cell, his chances for Survival in his mind went from slim, to nil.

The other 4 didn't recognize him, and the cover story of being from another village served well. For the moment, despite a few of them being pulled out and interrogated, they hadn't one anything to him.

It was a dying hope however, as the door to the cell opened and the stocky man entered again.

He was powerful looking despite his small stature compared to the others, his shoulders were broad and chest barreled. The prisoner wondered vainly what they were going to do to him as the stocky Atlantean in armor with 2 huge looking bodyguards pointed to him _'You. Out. Now."_

He complied, there was little else he could do and perhaps by showing his full cooperation they would miss his connection to what had happened.

The Prisoner was a warrior once, armed with the latest and greatest weapons their people could salvage from a dozen dead worlds. He'd killed many Wraith before it happened, and after… he'd caused the death of many of his closest allies.

Torment wasn't a strong enough word for what the Wraith put him through. Feeding, and returning his life over and over. Only the strong could survive… only the strong would break under the pressure.

The Prisoner was strong… and it was his downfall. It had taken days for him to finally crack, but when he did, the loyalty to the Wraith was unquestionable.

He was assigned to this planet to warn this Hive of any other Wraith attempting to cull it. It was a backwater planet that held only a few ten thousand humans, hardly enough to feed an entirely fully operational hive for more than a few days.

The prisoner had proven his worth to the Hive, and spared being fed on by giving them the Atlantean Leadership… or at least he'd thought he had.

The Atlanteans were crafty, and despite taking a few captives, the leaders had somehow evaded the Wraith even while avoiding certain death in space. As far as the Prisoner knew, the fate of the fair skinned woman with sun kissed hair whom he might one day have thought beautiful was still unknown. The dark haired warrior man, the one who had fought off many wraith that day had been the tip of the invasion force to the Hive.

So now that he was being led at the edge of a gun barrel sticking in his back, the Prisoner almost welcomed the death that was sure to come. He'd committed so many crimes, helped in such atrocities that a part of him wanted to die in order to never do it again.

There was only one problem. His loyalty was unquestionable, and he knew the Atlanteans were not masters of torture. He would never break for them, not for their civilized methods… the Wraith were a superior life, not held back by idiotic morals or codes of ethics.

They led him down the hallways of the small Earth craft. Bare and Spartan walls with not a single decoration. He had assumed they were taking him to an interrogation room, but instead he was given a forced tour of the ship, different sections with dozens of people watching… burning holes of hatred into his skin with their gaze.

He was led through an Armory, with 2 dozen heavily armed people all standing at attention. Men and women dressed in armor and with dangerous looking weapons. They all looked at him and the hatred in their eyes was undeniable. Perhaps the Atlanteans were a little more sophisticated… and perhaps his training to resist interrogation would be tested.

Another room, this one with technicians and metal workers. They diligently worked to repair the craft from the damage it had received, one part in particular caught the Prisoner's attention, and a metal plate with blood on it… someone had either died there, or was badly wounded given the amount of blood. The technicians looked at the procession with equal hate as the soldiers, none saying a word.

The stocky man in charge led him to yet another room. This one full of noise and people talking. As he entered it instantly became quieter, but the distinct noise of machines beeping as they monitored life were disturbing.

He saw the golden haired leader, she had 2 men beside her watching over her as she rested. One shorter and stocky, the other tall and proud. Both looked at him with contempt and the urge to rip him to shreds. A large bandage surrounded her head and the Prisoner felt a pang of remorse. Was he to blame for that?

Another bed, and a tan skinned woman lay in it unconscious. Another 2 women, with fairer skin and dark hair stood around her. The one with shorter hair looked worried, while the other with long hair shot a glance that almost made the Prisoner fall back. But the constant feeling of a gun barrel in his back kept him moving.

Finally, a bed that was mostly concealed with curtains; Blood splotches covered the opaque material, and the sight of the man inside made the prisoner realize why he was being hated so much. It was the Dark Haired Warrior, attached to an assortment of machinery, his arm coated in a hard white substance. A fair skinned blond with a mask and gloves adjusted the machinery… ostensibly keeping him alive.

The Prisoner felt the emotion inside each of them, but the Wraith indoctrination was strong… _He _was strong… and no amount of physical pain would ever break him.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the man was led to a large dark room. Two spotlights highlighted the ends of the table, an the stocky soldier shoved him forward. _"Sit down. Shut up."_

The prisoner did as he was told. Cooperation would make them feel relaxed, and perhaps he could avoid the obvious flogging.

The chair wasn't cooperating with him though, one of the legs was shorter than the others, which were already short enough to make the man feel like he was squatting and not sitting. It was unbelievably uncomfortable, even as he tried to keep the chair from wobbling.

The stocky man sat in his full sized and undefective chair, and slowly with much meticulation, he pulled out all the items in his vest. The prisoner wondered what was going on, as the only light he could see by was the reflected light from the planet below. _"I…"_

The stocky man interrupted quickly. _"No talking."_

The look the soldier gave him told him he was serious. For whatever intents and purpose, the Prisoner was being forced to remain silent.

The stocky man kept quiet, and after putting all the things he carried onto the table, he began to organize them.

Major Evan Lorne… Often times he was overlooked for his easy going nature, or underestimated because of his height. He used it against his enemies, as well as other experiences he'd had over the years.

Had this man met the Major before the Unas Mine, and the subsequent time spent on his knees waiting for Daniel Jackson to talk their way out of being eviscerated, Major Lorne would have gladly showed to what limit he would test the Geneva Convention.

Now though, he understood something about people and what would make someone as strong as him crack. Uncertainty was the biggest weapon a person had at their disposal, and the one weakness all sentient life had.

So Lorne decided to wait, and wait. He took care to arrange the objects on the table to something to his liking, an artistic vision of some abstract idea in his mind. The boredom worked both ways, and Major Lorne had to occupy his time somehow.

A full 14 minutes passed before the man attempted something else, and Lorne shot him a hostile glance. _"You're gonna wanna keep very still. And very quiet."_

The man looked like he wanted to ask why, but seeing the stony face of Major Lorne, kept still… and quiet.

Major Lorne pulled out his canteen, fully cognizant of the fact that the spotlight had likely made the prisoner just as thirsty as he was. So it was with just a hint of regret that Major Lorne took a slow and very loud sip, emphasizing that he wasn't going to give the man any.

The Prisoner was sweating now, and his tongue was slowly getting stickier and stickier, his ankles and knees were sore from sitting in such an awkward position and the sweat dripping own his forehead got saltier and saltier as it dripped down to his lips. It had been agony for the past few minutes, absolutely no clues as to what was going to happen to him were starting to wear on his mental state. Were they just going to sit there? Were they going to beat him? Did the Atlanteans have some form of lie detection he didn't know about?

The Major was getting sleepy, and pulling out his medical kit he popped a stimulant. It was only a weak one, and Lorne was fully conscious of the last time he'd taken them and the near disaster he'd caused, but he needed to keep looking menacing, and much stronger than the man across the table.

Lorne didn't know for a fact it was him, but all the others had been recognized by the villagers they'd rescued and he was the only odd one out. His reactions seemed suspicious as well, almost as if he were scared and trying not to show it.

Taking his canteen again, Lorne swallowed the little red pill. He smiled as if it tasted good, and motioned one of the guards at the door over. He watched in some odd pleasure the way the man at the other end of the table began to fidget, and brace himself as if he were about to get beat. Instead. Lorne just asked the corporal behind him to bring him the most tantalizing smelling sandwich they had on board.

Lorne figured that all he was really doing was having lunch while watching the man sit in an unfortunately damaged chair. If Pegasus had some kind of 'treatment of prisoners' convention, he was likely not breaking it.

The sandwich came 15 minutes later, a delicious chicken sandwich. Lorne almost felt bad that the man across from him began to salivate, obviously hungry as well as thirsty. Empathy was a dangerous thing for a soldier, and the Major fought back his emotions.

He focused on what he knew. Carter and Sheppard were in the infirmary with severe wounds… and 3 of the Outpost's crew were KIA. If Evan Lorne was going to feel emotion towards this man, it was going to be wrath.

But for now… uncertainty was to continue, and Lorne made it obvious the sandwich was quite delicious as he took slow bites of it.

The man sitting across the table was fidgeting, he'd been sitting there silent and trying to keep still for an hour while Lorne ate, motioned guards over, and even reorganized his little imaginary city he'd made of his inventory on the table. Was the stocky Atlantean going to even ask him something? Or was he just going to watch while he sweat out and dried up into a husk like a feeding victim? That made an ironic sense now… He'd caused enough death that his would be an analogue to what the Wraith did.

The Atlanteans were cruel he understood now, they were not more civilized than the Wraith… but they were much more sophisticated. From the half almost smile the stocky man made, he was enjoying watching him slowly turn into a husk.

The chair had made his muscles ache from their awkward position. All the man wanted to do was get up and stretch, but every time he moved, the Stocky man gave him a look that made him think twice. This wasn't like any torture he'd been prepared for.

Lorne checked his sigh, it had been almost an hour and a half and his muscles were stiff, but any show that he was just as frustrated with the situation and he'd lose the upper hand. The Major decided to compromise and pulled out his notepad.

The man across the table became curious, and he watched intently as the Major began to write… and write… and write…

Before he knew it, the Major had gone through five pages of scribbling. The last 3 had taken him awhile, and there was absolutely no clue as to how long the prisoner been sitting here other than the burning ache in his muscles. He had begun to fidget uncontrollably, probably going mad from the monotony.

Finally, after almost 3 hours of sitting and doing next to nothing, the sun shone in from the edge of the planet, finally illuminating the room.

The stocky Atlantean finally got up, and he very carefully rolled up his sleeves. The prisoner almost welcomed the beating except… The stocky Atlantean simply sat back down, and went back to his doodles.

15 minutes later… 15 of the longest minutes the prisoner had ever known and he was scorching. He had no doubt he'd sweat out pounds worth of water now, the spotlight and the sun behind him was turning him into a piece of smoked meat and the worst part was it had absolutely nothing to do with the stocky man in front of him. _"Kill me… please."_

The Major raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting such an odd reaction to the non-interrogation. _"Why? I like you where you are."_

The man began to sob, and his eyes refused to moisten with tears, all his fluids had been sweat out, and his voice was raspy. _"I'll tell you everything please… just stop this…"_

Lorne smiled, and cracked his knuckles. _"You tell me everything… and I'll give you a 5 minute head start before I tell every village down there than you worship those life sucking bastards."_

After almost 4 hours of continual sweating, and not more than 5 words. The prisoner's imagination had gone through every single thing that the Atlanteans could do to him if he refused, his original stance that the Atlanteans were weak had completely changed, they were much stronger than anyone else he'd ever encountered, and their most ruthless weapons were those that did the least damage possible.

He told the stocky man everything, the Hive, the way he'd been indoctrinated, and the way he'd never stop worshipping the Wraith. He begged him for death, a quick bullet to the head so he could finally pay for all his crimes… crimes he freely admitted he would do again.

Lorne was torn, the man in front of him had suffered, and caused much suffering. As strange as it was, he wrote down one final page and handed it to the Corporal behind him. _"Give this to the Village Elder and put him 5 minutes away from the gate. Let the natives figure out how to deal with him."_

"_Yes sir… and sir?"_

Lorne furrowed his brow, the anguished cries for mercy coming from across the table were distracting. _"Yeah Corporal?"_

"_Begging your pardon… but what'd you draw there?"_

Lorne smiled, and remembered his air force training… hanging onto something to keep sane in these crazy situations. _"Take a look for yourself."_

_------------------------_

John and Sam looked at each other in amazement. They'd always known there was more to Major Lorne than a sharp wit and good trigger finger. _"You're kidding right? You got him to break just by sitting there?"_

Sam was equally dumbfounded, but understood what he meant by uncertainty. Daniel had enjoyed telling her of the Major's team and their fidgetiness during the events of the Unas held mine. _"Remind me never to play stare down with you."_

Lorne chuckled, and pulled out his notepad. _"I'll have the memo to you by morning. In the meantime I'll let you two get some rest." _He got up and opened the curtain. _"Oh… here." _He tossed the notepad to Sam. _"Figured you'd wanna know what I spent 3 hours doing."_

With that, the Major left the infirmary amidst the chuckled and utter amazement of his two commanding officers. He'd spent much of the time watching the Prisoner drawing sketches, beautiful pictures from different angles, as well as writing down the lyrics to the famous musical song "I am the Very Model of the Modern Major General."

John looked at the picture Sam handed him, and after a few blinks of incredulity, looked back. _"Why is he still a Major?"_

Sam snickered and set the picture she had down. _"The SGC doesn't need anymore certifiable Colonels wandering about the cosmos causing wanton mayhem... present company excluded."_

The laughs coming from the infirmary proved to all who heard it, that Colonel Carter and Sheppard were going ot be alright.

_--------------------------_

_A/N: It's short, yes I know. But the Epilogue is long and from what my beta tells me, you'll all enjoy it. Thanks for reading all :D Epilogue goes up in a day or 2.  
_


	15. Epilogue: Wicked Game

_**Epilogue – Wicked Game**_

_----------------_

_A/N: So here it is… the reworked, Reduxed, and Digitally Remastered (You'll see what I mean. :P) Epilogue… I think it fits sooo much better than the prior version. _

_I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. This was the original idea i had that got me into Fanfiction beyond a drabble or two. I'm soooo glad it's turned out so well :D I've been typing so much on my laptop that my X and D keys are actually sticky now! (for the life of me i can't tell why those two! I hardly use them!)  
_

_Both my Beta 'Dephany' and my GF say this epilogue made them laugh, and it made them cry. My Beta says it reminded her of 'Threads' specifically the tension between Jack and Sam, as well as feeling like the characters might actually do this.. Hope Y'all enjoy it and since this will be the last chapter, reviews are highly appreciated :D_

_Oh and uhh… Thanks to BlondieChemGirl for giving me a last minute addition completely by accident. She'll know what I'm talking about :P_

_-----------------_

It had been a week and a half, and normality had finally returned to Atlantis.

Casualties were mourned, trade was reestablished, and treaties were formed with the planet that had been attacked. They were now full fledged allies of the Atlantis Expedition in gracious exchange for the defense of their people during the culling.

Sam was healed up and on light duties, not that she ever did any heavy duties as commander other than sleep deprivation.

Teyla had left earlier that week to Earth to speak with the new head of the IOA, Mr Coolidge. Another day and she'd be back.

Neither Sam nor John had attempted more than a sentence or two to each other since they arrived. Work was the extent of their communication and it was obvious people had noticed.

Sam hated it. The confusion in her mind made Sam wish that people were as simple as math.

Math was concrete, as long as the variables were defined, an answer was always possible. (Usually… that damn 1=2 problem always made Sam frustrated until she remembered that it wasn't _technically_ possible to divide by 0… she felt like Thor did during the Replicator attack on the Asgard Homeworld… too smart for her own good.)

But people… Even the most innocuous thing could create doubt and add more variables to the equation of… well… Love wasn't exactly the right word. But Sam couldn't think of another fitting word as she read the E-Mail she'd received from Vala.

"Hel-lo Everybody!! Mwah Mwah Mwah! I know I just sent out that _delightful_ 25 things about me quiz Cameron sent me (Sorry I doubled it with 50 :D I'm just SUCH a unique person 25 just wasn't enough!), but this was _soooo_ beautifully written that I just couldn't help sending it out to you all! Many hugs and kisses to everybody! (Except to you Daniel, You know what you did… : Don't deny it!!!11one) (You as well Muscles. That was my ice cream! : :P )

**MAYBE**

_Maybe… we were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that, when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift._

_Maybe… when the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times, we look so long at the closed door that we don't even see the new one which has been opened for us._

_Maybe. . . it is true that we don't know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives._

_Maybe. . . the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way._

_Maybe. . . the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches._

_Maybe. . . you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do..."_

It went on and on… Vala always flooded the SGC servers with spam and chain letters. But for the first time in what seemed and sadly _was_ actually years, Sam felt the emotional tug at the written words.

Maybe…

So now, that the time for personnel reviews by the IOA was coming up, she'd have to spend quite a bit more time than usual with… _him_… and for the first time, Sam wasn't looking forward to it.

A head popped into her office, Jennifer's quirky voice broke through her concentration. _"Hey! What are you doing here Sam!?"_

Sam rolled her eyes and smiled politely. _"Getting everything ready for the new Head of the IOA to meet our people."_

Jennifer sighed in a sarcastic dejection and moved into the room. She sat down and stared hard at Sam. _"Wanna take a break?"_

Sam furrowed her brow, she looked to Jennifer with no small sense of confusion. _"Well… okay. But what are you talking about?"_

Jennifer smirked deviously. _"It's 6pm Sam. You should have gone off duty hours ago. I'll hold off on the relief of duty for medical reasons if you come with me to the lounge tonight and have a few beers."_

Sam decided to be difficult. _"You got your fake ID?"_

Jennifer's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide. _"Sam!!!"_

A few snickers and Sam sighed. _"I dunno… what if…"_ She didn't want to say exactly what she was thinking. After a few looks and attempts to talk about it on her part, Jennifer obviously knew something was up between John and Sam.

"…_So what if he's there? You'll have to face him sometime. If you're serious about nothing happening than it shouldn't matter."_

Sam rolled her eyes again and shook her head idly. _"You know, it's so much easier to give advice than to take it. You know it's nowhere near as easy as you're making it sound."_

Jennifer scrunched her face and pouted. _"Oh come on, I promise I'll be nice. I just wanna go, maybe shoot some pool, and relax especially after everything that's happened."_

Sam had to admit, lounging and sitting back to some relaxing music was definitely tempting. _"Well…"_

_-------------------------_

Sam froze as she neared the lounge. The voice coming from the room's loudspeakers was distinctly familiar amidst the acoustic guitars. _"…I'm gonna break my…! I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run."_

Jennifer noticed immediately and turned to Sam. _"Sounds like him."_

Sam controlled her breathing, she was NOT going to let this hold her back. Dammit she'd faced down threats so much bigger and stronger than John Sheppard! This was nothing… nothing to be afraid of…

"_Too cold to start a fire, I'm burning diesel, burning dinosaur bones…"_

Who was she kidding? She'd rather face off against another Kull Warrior than look into John's eyes knowing what she knew… knowing that John had seen a side of her that no one _ever_ saw. _"Just give me a minute Jen. Gotta get into the zone."_

As Jennifer nodded and paced a bit, John's voice continued the song his favorite artist sung._ "I'll take the river down to still water, and ride a pack of dogs…"_

Sam knew the song, and it was surprisingly fitting. She'd been in a rusty cage of her own for so long… and so had John… the idea that coursed through both of their minds… it enraged her, John was one of the few men alive that could bring up emotion in her, the sudden and undeniable effect he had on her control.

"_I'm gonna break… I'm gonna break my… I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run."_

Sam decided to do just that, and with a final breath of calm, took a strong confident step forward. _"Not a word Jennifer."_

Jennifer smiled and zipped her mouth. _"Doctor Patient confidentiality!"_

Sam entered the lounge… and it was ethereal as the song suddenly turned from an acoustic version, to an electric guitar with heavy drums in the background. John's voice was surprisingly good… though nothing compared to his ability with the Gibson guitar in his hands. _"When the forest burns along the Road… Like God's eyes in my headlights…"_

The lounge was pretty packed, most of the tables at the front were filled with various off duty Atlantis Crew, both Military and Civilian. All looked as if they were having a great time.

To Sam's surprise, John wasn't alone on stage. To his side stood Major Lorne with his own guitar, and Sergeant Chuck Campbell with a bass. Lieutenant Cadman was busy rocking back and forth as she played the drums very… effectively. They all wore ridiculous blues style getups with mirrored sunglasses. Chuck made her laugh especially with the giant cigar he faked puffing on.

"_Wow, they're pretty good."_

Sam didn't know how to reply to Jennifer's comment, and instead wormed her way through the dimly lit area and went to the makeshift bar. John kept on singing with Cash's style. _"…When the dogs are looking for their bones… and it's raining icepicks on your steel shore…"_

Sam grabbed a pitcher of light beer and moved off to sit to the side, as she sat, instantly a familiar voice broke her concentration. _"Hey Sam! Dr Keller."_

Jennifer smiled warmly, and sitting down motioned for him to sit as well _"Rodney, Call me Jennifer. Come on, sit! I'll show you another bar trick."_

Rodney chuckled, and sitting down across from Sam looked up at the front. _"As insane as he is, he sure knows a guitar."_

John was busy belting out the last bit of the song, the others in his group adding emphasis to their playing. _"I'm gonna break… I'm gonna break my…! I'm gonna break my rusty cage…"_ His gaze drifted over to the table where Sam and her little group was, and he instantly knew it was her. The ponytail and sunny smile were unmistakable. _"…And Run."_

Sam saw it, and realized this was going to be harder than she expected. _'Come on Carter… Focus… this is important. Can't let it get to you…'_

Rodney seemed to notice, and poured himself a beer even as the crowd cheered and clapped. _"You okay Sam? Haven't seen you down here lately."_

Sam smiled to him and shook her head idly. _"Oh I'm just worried Rodney… The IOA's been really grilling me about personnel reviews. I can't wait till Teyla and Ronon get it over with."_

Rodney nodded in agreement and took a sip. _"Ah, same here. Well the house rules are no talking about work. This is pretty much my only sanctuary other than my shower from Radek's incessant babbling."_

Jennifer snickered, and smacked him on the shoulder. _"Come on… I've got a neat trick. I need two coins though."_

Sam wasn't paying attention, instead she focused on the stage… and how John was scanning the cheering crowd with a boyish grin… and a hint of hesitation. _"Thank you… thank you… Sheppard's Flock is grateful and totally appreciative of our fans."_

Major Lorne leaned in to his mic and muttered. _"Uhh… No offense Sir, but the 'Flock' is petitioning for a change in the name of the band."_

John turned to each, and their replies were almost comically stereotypical. _"Really? You guys don't like Sheppard's Flock?"_

Cadman yelled… loudly. _"It's Cheesy and I'm not a sheep…" _She added quickly. "_Uhh… Sir!"_

A few laughs from the crowd, and John looked to Chuck. _"Sarge… is this true?"_

Chuck shrugged, and nonchalantly nodded. _"Sounds like a high school band Sir."_

Many more laughs now, and John rolled his eyes as he scrunched his face. _"Alright alright… how's this folks?" _He looked to Lorne and smirked his devious smirk. Sam knew instantly John was about to be almost deadly smartassed… what did that mean? That she knew what he was going to do before he even did it? When did Sam become so familiar with the dark haired Colonel?

John used his thumb to signal both himself and Lorne. _"Two Flyboys…" _John cocked his head back and motioned with the same thumb to Cadman. _"…Little Miss Bang Bang…"_

Cadman yelped in agreement as she pumped her fist with the drumstick in it.. _"Whoo!"_

The crowd tittered and watched as John hooked his thumb over to Chuck. _"… and the Chucknician?"_

On cue, Cadman instantly hit a rim shot eliciting a massive uproar of laughter from the crowd. John just got a totally shocked look on his face and shot a laugh to Cadman. _"Oh damn! Classic."_

The laughs made Sam feel better… John was having fun… so should she. So she took a sip from her beer and laughed as Rodney tried to figure out how Jennifer had somehow teleported one coin to the other hand. It was an easy trick, but with Rodney already mildly tipsy, it was easy to confuse him.

John on the other hand had something planned. He'd not been expecting Sam to show up… The way their relationship had quickly deteriorated after returning to Atlantis was tearing at him and he needed to fix it… And being on stage now gave him a unique opportunity. _"Alright folks… One more song and I'm done. But I think you'll like what I've got in mind."_

He turned to the others on stage and whispered something. They gave him slightly confused looks, but smiled nonetheless. Sam had hardly noticed, but hearing the suddenly very mellow guitar strumming looked up to the stage again.

John strummed the guitar twice, a low note then a high one, and instantly a few people in the crowd started cheering. Sam didn't recognize the song though. He continued strumming, playing the lead guitar with the others backing him up.

He led into a mellow and emotional guitar solo, finally singing in a low and almost breathy voice. _"The world was on fire…. No one could save me but you…"_

Sam's attention was instantly caught. The song seemed so familiar… but it had been so long since she listened to it. The words he spoke seemed to slap her awake.

"… _Strange what desire will make foolish lovers do…"_

The bastard chose the song on purpose… He'd avoided talking to her for more than a week… and now he was singing his feelings… The crowd was swayed, John's singing beyond emotional.

"_I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you…"_

Did he mean it? Was he just singing the lyrics or was he actually trying to speak to her? Sam knew John wasn't the 'feelings' type of person… but was this his way of… _god_ this was agony.

"_I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you…"_

_Lose? John… who are you singing about? Are you being serious or are you just singing…? You bastard… don't do this to me… please… not this… _

John's voice rose to a piercing tone, a note Sam was amazed the man's throat could reach. _"No I-i-i-i… don't wanna fall in love…"_

Lorne and Chuck sang backup, unwittingly adding to the tension in Sam's mind. _"This love is only gonna break your heart…"_

John sang perfectly on cue, right as Lorne and Chuck finished. _"No I-i-i-i… don't wanna fall in love…"_

"_This love is only gonna break your heart…"_

Sam could feel the blood rush out of her face as John looked right at her. _"With you…" _The guitar was haunting

'_You don't want to… with me? John… what are you…?' _Try as she might, Sam still felt her eyes begin to moisten, and realized that she couldn't stay here… John had grabbed a hold of one of her heartstrings and was tugging on it hard… but was he trying to tear it, or sooth it?"

John tore his gaze away, and moved into the chorus, soft and mellow. _"What a wicked game to play… to let me feel this way… What a wicked thing to do… to let me dream of you…"_

Sam needed to leave… She needed to get out of here and come to grips with her emotions… but the feeling that it would be running away… leaving before John could completely finish… Sam wasn't a coward and forced her legs to remain still until he finished his song… and only then retreat to regain control.

John's voice rose again, and his singing was intensely emotive. _"What a wicked thing to say… you never felt this way… What a wicked thing to do… to let me dream of you and I-i-i-i…!"_

He was a good singer. A _"Strangled Cat " _indeed. Sam didn't think many people would be able to hit that high note the "I" required and could see why people were cheering as the guitars created a very pleasing tone… his voice punctuating how poignant the song seemed to be. The only problem was that it was saying everything she didn't want to hear… what she worried would break their friendship.

John kept singing, this old song was surprisingly perfect. The subtle and almost bittersweet feeling it evoked in him was exactly what he needed to say. It made him feel that maybe… just maybe he could face Sam and figure things out. _"…Don't wanna fall in love… No I-i-i-i…! Don't wanna fall in love…With you…"_

He knew Sam could tell he was singing about her… and also about what he felt… John would have never guessed he would feel anything like this again… not after Nancy… not after Elizabeth… The song was right… it's only gonna break your heart.

But the way the words came out of his mouth, and the gentle passion that came from his guitar… John couldn't help it. He may not have wanted it… but it was still there.

The last chorus… and John took a very deep breath to hold the final line. _"No I-i-i-i-i-i-i…!" _

The crowd had gone crazy. Where had they gotten so many lighters? Wasn't smoking outlawed on Atlantis for safety reasons? He heard catcalls, wolf whistles and varied cheering. But… in the cacophony… he'd lost sight of Sam… The final words of the song came out with closed eyes… hiding the sudden dampness in his eyes. _"Nobody… loves no one…"_

The final guitar and drum hits, and the crowd swung into an uproar. Whistles, hoots, and cheers from the people sitting at the tables gave John no reprieve… all he wanted was Sam… to finally face her as he'd sung his bit.

But as he looked to the exit… he caught hee ponytail just as the doors closed… and his heart almost stopped just as the song said it would. Chris Isaak sure knew what he was talking… or rather singing about.

-----------------

An hour he'd been pacing. More than likely he'd put more steps on this corridor than it had seen since the Lanteans occupied the city. But a matter of great importance wouldn't let him leave. It was just as strong as the fear that wouldn't let him move forward.

He'd come to her door. an analogue for the same one she left from in the lounge… John had to tell the others he was feeling tired in order to escape… and thankfully Sam's quarters were in a remote part… nobody saw him head that way.

John Sheppard was no coward, and to some he was a hero. But Heroes have the right to bleed, and more often then not they feel terror none others could feel. Right now, John was more terrified than he'd ever been.

John had exposed the most inner feelings he had, and now wasn't sure what had happened. Why had Sam left? She obviously knew the song had been meant for her… his obvious stare at her during the proper moment of the song had all but screamed it.

So now as he stood in front of her door, his hand inches from the door chime, John was catatonic.

John closed his eyes, and imagined the possible outcomes. Almost none of them were going to be even close to happy… but that didn't matter anymore. John had made a promise to Sam to have her back no matter what, and John Sheppard did everything he could to keep his promises.

The Air Force Frat Rules never made more sense to him than now. How could he be expected to act with proper judgment when his commanding officer made him feel like this? How was _she_ feeling? Had he inadvertently broken her heart?

That final possibility made John want to cry. Just fall to his knees and sob unrestrained. Sam meant too much now… her wellbeing was something that seemed precious to him and to cause her any harm took John in the depths of despair… he'd bear any pain for her… any amount of it.

So he decided. This ended tonight, no matter the outcome. John rang her door chime.

No response. He waited a few seconds… then rung it again.

Fully 10 seconds passed, and John felt his stomach tighten.

This was torture… somebody was having fun making his heart slowly twist like a pretzel and his emotions wring out like a dirty rag.

Finally… after one final ring, the door opened.

She stood there… still in her casual getup… looking quite stony faced despite her puffy cheeks and red eyes. _"Yeah?"_

John tried to swallow the lump in his throat, and failed. _"Yeah…"_

Sam checked her slap, why was he here? She thought he'd made himself clear and all that was left was to move on. _"What are doing here Sheppard?"_

John finally managed to clear his throat, and spoke softly. _"I… I dunno Sam. I guess… I guess I just wanna talk."_

Sam felt rage, she wanted to strangle John right now, make him suffer in retribution for what she was feeling now, having to bury her emotions under years of military training. Her voice was slow and controlled… almost diplomatic. _"Oh? About what?"_

"_About…"_ John sighed, and bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. _"For God's sake Sam… you…you know what i… why I'm here…"_

Sam pursed her lips, and breathed in through her nose. _"I think you made yourself pretty clear tonight. So just go home and we can forget this ever happened… I… " _Sam stopped, and realized that she'd never forget having her heart broken like this.

John furrowed his brow, forget? what had she understood? _"Wait… Sam…"_

Sam interrupted him, every moment of this was awkward agony and she needed it to end before something irreversible happened. _"It's fine John… It's better this way… I… I can…"_ Sam suddenly checked a sob, and sniffed hard as she looked away. _"Goddamnit! Just go…! Please… I don't want to hate you John.. please… I really don't… but if you don't go right now…you're not giving me another choice so just… just please… drop this and go."_

It just hurt so much, the way Sam had opened up a part of herself that she'd kept hidden and tucked away, only to have John come and make a mess of it. Exactly what she _didn't _want to happen was happening right in front of her. She turned around and took a step back into her quarters when she felt his strong hand come down on her shoulder. _"Sam… wait…"_

Sam winced hard and felt her fist curl. Her voice was full of hate and wrath. _"Let go of me…"_

John rubbed his face with his other hand, wiping away the moisture in his eyes sneakily. _"Sam… What do you think I said tonight?"_

Sam scoffed, and her jaw quivered as she stiffened under his touch. She was unbelievably relieved no one could see them right now. _"Well… you made it clear that... it was just… You goddamn…" _Sam sighed suddenly, it was a surprisingly huge disappointment to her after the events of the Jumper. Was it all just cabin fever? It couldn't have been, so all that was left was that John wasn't as ready as he said he was. _"Well… that's fine Sheppard. It's the way it should be for us. We're soldiers. And we should act like it. So quit the bullshit and take your hand off me."_ It wasn't fine, and Sam was furious that she'd allowed her heart to be rend like this. It would take time, but slowly they would heal from this… hopefully

John winced as he realized what had happened, and his jaw clenched in horror. John's voice was soft and surprisingly calm despite his realization. _"Jesus H… Sam… you know I'm… I'm not good with these… talking about…"_

Sam clenched her fists. Was John was trying to _let her down easy…? _God she was going to break his face. _"Oh…? Well why don't you tell me exactly what you mean instead of lyrics? Be a fucking man and tell me you… Tell me you're not…" _Sam couldn't help it, and began to cry softly as she stared away from him. "_I'm serious John. Don't sugar coat it, don't mince words or assume I'm going to read your mind. Tell me straight out what you want or else I'm going to hurt you… I'm going to make you wish you'd never met me."_

John rubbed his mouth with his free hand, his entire stance still shocked. John was now standing up straight as he stared right at the back of Sam's head _"Sam… I…" _John sighed, this was by far the hardest thing he'd had to do in a long time. _"I meant what I said… you just need to listen carefully to what I'm saying…"_

Sam saw he was being serious, and after releasing her curled fist just a tad, softened her shoulder under his hand. _"Alright… what does it tell me?"_

John closed his eyes, and pointed his face down. _"You… you say you don't want to hate me but…" _He winced hard and breathed in as he continued. _"Well… I don't __**want**__ to fall in love…"_ He turned her around, his eyes wet with tears. _"But…" _He raised his hand, and held Sam's cheek in it. _"… Well… you're not giving me much choice."_

Sam's heart went from a slow and steady pace to a machine gun. The song suddenly made perfect sense as she got the meaning of what _"__**Want**__"_ meant in the lyric.

John didn't _**want**_ to fall in love with her… but that didn't mean it _**wasn't**_ happening… just like she never _**wanted**_to fall in love with Jack… but it still happened… just like it _**was**_ now.

"_I…" _Sam was lost, everything she felt had been destroyed was suddenly there again, John had just told her in not so literal terms he couldn't help but want her… it was the same way she couldn't help but want _him_ now… and the risk of losing her was what hurt the most. _"I-I…I…" _Her eyes burned, the tears began and her jaw quivered. John's genuine admission had broken the final barrier she had over her heart and the years of pent up repressions. _"Goddamn it John…! Why… why didn't you just say so? I've been…"_ Her voice was soft, the soldier within had decided to go AWOL and now it was only Sam the woman speaking.

John drew in a sharp breath, and the tears flowed down his cheeks. He chuckled ruefully. _"I thought that's what I did… guess the song gets a little lost in translation…"_

Sam laughed despite herself, she laughed and couldn't believe what had just happened. Sam had never seen John show emotion before the jumper, and seeing his tears now told her how much he trusted her.

John pulled Sam into a hug and she did the same. He felt her arms wrap around his chest and Sam's face softly moisten his shoulder, her sobs soft and emotional. _"So… what now?_

Sam couldn't take it anymore, rules be damned, she _needed_ him right now. _"John…I… is… oh god… if… if I ask you… to stay… would… would it make things… difficult… for us?"_

John winced hard again, and buried his face in her neck. _"I… I don't know Sam… I… I think it…" _He sighed hard, and nuzzled into her neck. _"Not on my part… I'm with you till the bitter fucking end… no matter what."_

Sam smiled, and whispered softly. _"Me too…"_ She pulled back from his hug, and closely stared at him. _"Do… do you want to come in?"_

John gulped. Sam definitely made him feel like a teenager all over again. But the last shred of responsibility left in his bones had to make a final stand… it was the only way he could do this without any regrets or doubts. _"Yeah…yeah I do…"_ He smiled softly and whispered. _"… and that's exactly why I shouldn't…"_

Sam winced hard, and realized just how badly she must have hurt him by saying those exact same words to him earlier. Sam realized she had a tendency to hurt those she loved the most and for a brief moment hated herself. They'd been trying to dance on the razor edge of their feelings… and the duty that they'd sworn to uphold.

But Sam had never agreed to swear away her happiness, and when John began to pull away she held onto his arms. Sam may have hurt him earlier, but now she wanted to rectify that. John looked back at her with an intense fire in his eyes. Sam whispered softly, almost inaudibly. _"Stay."_

John replied just as softly, moving closer with every second. _"You have to be sure Sam… there's no going back after this."_

Sam nodded slowly, and pulled him in gently to her room. _"I'm sure John… are you?"_

John realized that this was real, and didn't need a pinch to bring him to reality. _"Yeah… Yeah I am…"_

The doors silently closed behind John as he gradually entered Sam's quarters, the heavy metal creating the sanctuary that both of them had forgotten they wanted… forgotten they needed.

----------------------------

It was almost 3 in the morning. Sam had woken up simply because she felt something moving underneath her. Years of being a soldier, and having to sleep in hostile territory had made her a light sleeper. _"Hey… where do you think you're going?"_

John reached over and pulled his pants closer from off the floor. _"Don't think it'd be too wise for me to leave your quarters in the morning when everybody's up and about."_

They'd started out slow, just getting to know each other's bodies in the dark softness of Sam's bed. But it wasn't long before it became a primal dance that let out years of pent up energy. Both were surprised at how rough they'd become, almost as if wanting to take what they wanted out of the other. Neither complained though, and a level of comfort had grown between them that neither had felt in ages.

Sam pouted softly, and tugged him back into her arms. _"True… but you're staying."_

John chuckled and allowed himself to fall back into bed with her. Sam kissed him passionately and moaned softly as she snickered. _"John, not to inflate your ego or anything… but the last time I had sex was 3 years ago… and I can't even remember what it was like compared to this."_

John stifled his laugh and palmed his face. _"You know… every guy wants to hear that, but what the hell!?"_

Sam laughed, and hugged him tightly. _"I'm serious… the guy I was engaged to?"_ Sam held up her pinkie making John wince with sympathetic man pain. Sam giggled and ran her hands along his chest. _"…and__ that little thing you did with your tongue…"_

Now John cringed and cupped her mouth with his hand, her long unfettered hair cascaded over his chest as he shushed her with his embrace. _"Whoa Nellie! Just in case there's someone up there hearing everything we say and do I think maybe we should keep a few secrets to ourselves…"_ He looked down at the woman he'd just made love with and leaned forward to kiss her again.

Sam wrapped her legs around his hips again, it had been much too long since she could feel free like this. _"So… I guess we're in it deep now aren't we?"_

John sighed and kissed Sam's forehead tenderly. His fingers danced along her spine leading down… _"Oh yeah… definitely… what would they do to us if they found out?"_

Sam smiled and yawned as she curled her toes into John's calf. _"Probably bury you in Area 51… The lock on your door probably wouldn't even have a key."_

John moaned softly as Sam did things under the sheets he didn't know were physically possible. _"Ahhh! Fuck! Well… too late to worry about that now."_ He looked down at Sam as she somehow managed to mount him without using her hands._ "Urrr… What about you? What do you think they'd do to you?"_

Sam shrugged, and slowly began to rock her body back and forth. _"Ahhh… Probably a slap on the wrist… I'm a national treasure." _Her voice was comically sarcastic.

John chuckled as his hand slid down her back to get a good gripping point. _"That you are… damned unfair if you ask me."_

Sam giggled, and leaned down to kiss him softly. _"Don't worry... I'll come and visit you."_

John snorted. _"Great, thanks. Didn't know Area 51 had conjugal visit trailers." _Both he and Sam laughed softly as they began to make love yet again._ "You know Sam…"_ He leaned forward and kissed her intensely. _"Anyone can be passionate…"_ He broke the kiss, and rubbing his cheek against hers whispered. _"But only real lovers can be silly."_ With that, John licked Sam's neck from just below her jaw line to her ear.

It was too funny, and Sam melted at what he was only being too effective at saying. It had been a question she wanted to know the answer to, but amidst her laughter it came to her.

They weren't going to have any kind of formal relationship… at least not publicly. In private… the few times they had while on base would be the relief they both needed so intensely.

They were lovers now… somewhere between friends and soulmates. It wasn't exactly love they shared, but a mutual respect and understanding that made them comfortable enough with each other to share something like this. It might evolve, it might not, but for now it was what they needed.

Their latest bout of lovemaking lasted awhile, but soon both reached their limits and groaned loudly into each other's necks as they joined once more. John took a few moments to cuddle Sam, to just enjoy the feeling of her body so close to his.

"_Sam… I can't stay…"_

"_No… please John… just this once… don't go."_ Sam perfectly understood that him leaving was the most sensible thing to do, the risk they were taking had to be mitigated any chance they had and John being seen leaving her quarters in his casual wear the morning after qualified for some very bad suspicions. _"I don't want our first time to end like this… please John…"_

Sam _never _begged. John could see just how much it meant to her to finally do this. He pulled her in as close as he could and whispered softly. _"You think I __**wanna **__leave?"_

"_No…"_

"_But you know I have to…"_

Sam sighed heavily, and squeezed him harder. _"Just for a bit… please… I don't want to fall asleep alone."_

John turned her over and spooned her as they lay on their sides on the bed. _"*Sigh*… alright... but we've got a lot we need to work out tomorrow… so go to sleep now so I'm not completely dead tomorrow."_

Sam pulled his arms around her and leaned back into him. Her life had just been made exponentially more complicated, just as his had been. But Sam knew it was worth it, what had transpired tonight was something she'd been waiting for for so long, and Sam felt _so_ proud that she'd finally had the guts to just take something she wanted. _"Mmm… yeah… but I could just stay awake and you won't leave."_

John groaned softly and kissed Sam's neck eliciting a soft gasp. _"Ugh… you're so cruel to me… Ronon's already gonna know I didn't get a good night's sleep when he completely destroys me at running tomorrow."_

Sam thought about it for a second, and turned around to face John. Their lips were only a few centimeters away from each other. _"Maybe you should just tell him why you're so tired."_

John became wide awake, and he shifted to look at Sam in utter shock. _"You can't be serious…"_

Sam shifted up as well, and looked right at John with a strong look. _"You trust him right?"_

"_Well… yeah… but…"_

Sam sighed and let her head fall onto the pillow. _"Then just tell him. In fact… who can we trust enough to tell?"_

"_Sam! If we go and start telling people this isn't gonna be a secret for long!" _John just couldn't understand where this was coming from. Was Sam delirious from the concussion awhile ago?

"_Maybe I don't want it to be a secret…" _Sam's voice was harsh, and John remained silent. _"Maybe I don't wanna have to sneak around like we're doing something that's wrong." _Her voice began to crack near the end. John could tell she was being very serious.

"_Yeah… I know what you mean…"_ John leaned forward and pulled her in close. _"Ronon won't tell anyone… but I'm guessing he's not the only one you had in mind."_

Sam nuzzled and wrapped her legs around his. _"Well… Jennifer already suspects… and the moment either of us gets a physical I'm betting she'll know right away."_

John furrowed his brow, and whispered softly. _"What? How the hell did she find out?"_

Sam snickered and kissed John's chest softly. _"If you weren't such a good kisser she never would have known."_

"_What!?"_

Sam leaned forward and gave John a very moist kiss on his lips. _"She found your DNA on my lips after the Jumper…"_

John was stunned, and replied the only way he knew how. _"Uhhh… Crap."_

"_Yeah… She is our doctor too so… I trust she won't tell anyone."_

John sighed, and mumbled softly. _"Great, so whenever I see her she's going to look at me and go 'Ohh… I'm gonna have lots of fun teasing him with bad jokes!' " _John palmed his face. _"This is not gonna be easy…"_

Sam cuddled into John again, and soothed the side of his rustled hair. _"No… it's not…" _She felt a pang of regret, and thought that maybe this wasn't going to be worth it. _"John… we don't have to tell anyone… I just thought…"_

John interrupted. _"My Team."_

Sam scrunched her face. _"What?"_

"_We can tell my team… they won't say anything."_

Sam nodded, and drew in a deep breath at the knowledge that John was trusting her with a hell of a lot more than originally anticipated. _"Yeah… i… I trust you… and I think we should trust Lorne… he's the last backup we have in case…"_

John nodded and kissed Sam beside her eye. _"That's pretty much the entire command staff… and I think it should end there."_

"_Yeah… no one else… but they have to know so we…" _Sam stopped for a moment, and nuzzled her face against his. _"… like I said… just in case."_

It remained unsaid. But they both knew clearly that it was perfectly possible that tomorrow would be the last time they saw each other.

John decided that he'd already taken a risk here, and if it came down to it he could always climb out her window like some teenager whose parents had just come home. _"Go to sleep Sam… I'll be here when you wake up."_

Sam pouted softly, and pushed him slightly. _"No… no… you're right… just stay till I fall asleep and go… it's not worth it please."_

John ignored her and pulled her in tighter. _"Yeah it is… anyone sees me and I'll say you asked me for some hair gel."_

Sam smiled and gave him a playful shove. But then realized that maybe they'd gone too far… and there was too much at risk. _"John… maybe we should just keep it quiet… except for Jennifer and Lorne."_

John thought about it, and realized Sam's train of thought. _"You know… that makes sense…" _John couldn't tell his team. As much as he might want to, they got into dangerous situations too often, and the thought that maybe they might take too great a risk because of him and Sam… _"I'll tell Lorne tomorrow."_

Sam nodded, and finally set her head down to sleep. _"I'll tell Jennifer… I… I need to talk to her anyway."_

John pulled her into his arms and set her down so he could sleep as well. _"Uhh… why does that make me nervous?"_

Sam smiled and kissed John's chest. _"Actually it should make you happy. I uhh… I sorta need to renew my… my… prescription… in a few weeks."_

John furrowed his brow, and seeing Sam's suddenly bashful nature and the way she refused to look at him realized. _"Oh…. Oh! Uhh… damn… uhh… I'm uhh… I'm guessing… implant?"_

Sam nodded, and breathed softly. _"3 years… I got it 3 years ago when…" _Sam thought about it. She'd gotten it when Pete had come into the picture so there wouldn't be… complications. But even after, when the chance came with Jack, nothing had happened. Sam kept it simply to keep up appearances.

It was a strange coincidence that right around the time Sam would have to renew, she actually would need to get it.

John just kept quiet. That was an issue he hadn't even _begun_ to consider yet… So he just stayed still, and relaxed as Samantha Carter fell asleep on his chest, a gentle and sincere smile on her lips.

Neither _**wanted**_ to fall in love with other… but they were making it pretty hard _**not**_ to.

-----------------------

John panted hard, Ronon had stopped and was looking at him intently. His sniffing made John worried. _"What? Don't like my deodorant?"_

Ronon had obviously noticed John was exhausted already on their morning run, and he seemed almost worried as he examined him. Ronon took a deep lungful of the smell around John, and smiled knowingly. _"You got laid last night."_

John did a double take, and stared at him. The thought crossed his mind to deny it, but seeing Ronon's devious smirk realized the Satedan was sure of it. _"*Sigh*… Figures… how'd ya know? I took a damn shower."_

Ronon shook his head idly and shrugged. _"You smell sexier than usual."_

John winced and palmed his face. _"That's… disturbing."_

-----------------------

"_Hold the Elevator!"_

Rodney held his hand out and stopped the door from closing. Sam quickly rushed ahead and entered. _"You know… technically this isn't an elevator."_

Sam smiled, and snickered softly. _"I know… force of habit…"_

Rodney scrunched his face, and got back to his tablet as he waited for the transported to send them to the medical bay. He had just finished his latest equation when he heard something, something melodic. Rodney blinked for a second, then turned to the source of the noise. _"Sam… Are you... humming?"_

Sam was busy rubbing her neck as she hummed the theme from Wormhole Extreme: Elysium City. It seemed as if there was a knot in her neck that she was forcing out. _"Uhh… yeah… why?"_

Rodney looked at Sam, and saw a tired smile as well as the sore muscles she was kneading. Rodney was completely freaked out. _"Uhh…You okay Sam? You're… creeping me out… and that's really creepy because you're never creepy."_

Sam chuckled as she scoffed at his wording. The flash of the transporter ended and she stepped out. _"Just didn't get a good night's sleep. I get a little crazy when I'm sleep deprived. See ya later Rodney!"_

Before Rodney could completely digest what he just saw, Sam was gone, off in the direction of the infirmary. After a few seconds of thinking of Sam sleeping, Rodney pushed it out of his mind and stepped out as well. There was a faulty power distribution grid here and he had decided to fix it himself as sending someone else would likely cost much more manhours and work… at least he assumed as much.

-----------------------------

"_Major… you think we can talk for a minute?"_

Lorne was sitting on the balcony, painting a beautiful visage of the west side of the city. John took a moment to look at it, and was reminded of the drawings Lorne had sketched while interrogating the Wraith Worshipper. _"Yes Sir, of course."_

John leaned against the door sill, and scratched his chin. _"That's pretty damn impressive Major. You ever take commissions?"_

Lorne chuckled, and put the brush down. _"Nah, just a little hobby. What'd you want to discuss Sir?"_

John drew in a heavy breath, then finally let out a long sigh. _"This… is gonna be complicated."_

_--------------------------_

"_Uhh… Sam… did I just hear you right?"_

Sam looked away, and blew the tuft of hair in her face out of the way. _"Yeah…. And I don't feel like repeating myself even in private."_

Jennifer took a few moments to recover from the request Sam gave him. Implanon wasn't _exactly_ the kind of thing she often prescribed. _"Uhh… okay… but you do know I'm… well I'm obligated…"_

Sam turned back and shot Jennifer a cold stare. _"And if I refuse to answer?"_

Jennifer could guess, but all the medical doctor inside her implored her to know for a fact. _"Sam… you know I'm not going to tell anyone… It's just… well you know people on Military bases aren't exactly supposed to be..."_

Sam answered, this was getting more frustrating by the second and being a little less tactful helped her cope. _"Sexually active? Yeah… well…" _She couldn't think of a proper way to finish, and instead sighed out her nose.

Jennifer kept her voice low, and decided to bend the rules just a little. _"Sam.. I need to know who it is you're thinking of… "_

Sam winced slightly. It had seemed so easy to be able to tell Jennifer this the night before in John's arms, but as they woke and John somehow got it into his crazy skull to climb out the window after taking a shower… _"Why? For gods sake Jennifer why does it matter so much who I might want to sleep with?" _

That was the biggest thing that kept Sam going. Jennifer didn't know about what had happened the night before and was still assuming Sam was only considering it. _"Well… for one I want to make sure you're not… taking any risks… Sam I know this is a messed up conversation that neither of us will want to remember… but I need to know for a fact so I can sign off on the implant, it'll never go into any records… no one will ever know but me… but… it's your health we're talking about…and I need to know."_

Sam considered calling the whole thing off, the stress of what was happening around them already was so much, and she had no clue how John was faring with Lorne.

------------------------------

"_Well sir… I uhh… wow that's… that's a hell of a situation there if you don't mind me saying so."_

John nodded, and rubbed the back of his neck. _"I don't… hell I fully understand if you disagree with it Major… to be honest… I'm not entirely sure what to think myself."_

Lorne blew a heavy sigh, and used his two index fingers to rub the bridge of his nose. _"Uhh… damn… uhh… permission to…"_

John scoffed, and rubbed his face. _"Evan, I just told you I had sex with Colonel Samantha Carter last night. Permission to speak freely was given _awhile_ back."_

Evan scoffed in return, and shook his head. _"You do realize General O'Neill is going to kill you the instant he finds out? Or more likely get Teal'c to do it."_

John chuckled, and leaned his head back as he imagined the older military officer bringing down the hammer on him. _"Oh yeah… But… I guess you could say I'm leaving when he finds out up to you. And Ronon is bound to jump in."_

Evan laughed at the thought. _"So he knows too?"_

John decided discretion was the better part of valor. _"Hell no, He just can't turn down a fight."_

Evan winced hard and laughed. _"That is true…"_ his smile eroded and he sighed dejectedly. _"My first real command decision?"_

John smiled and shrugged. _"Sorry to make it so… personal."_

_--------------------------_

"_Alright! It's John… Alright? Are you happy!? I'm thinking of having sex with Lieutenant Colonel John Fucking Sheppard alright?! Now are you going to give me the implant or just tell the IOA we're unfit for duty!?" _

Sam had raised her voice, but the obvious stress behind it made Jennifer cringe and hate herself for having to ask. _"Sam… I'm…"_

"_It doesn't matter… Goddamnit Jennifer this is hard enough for me! Why does everybody and their mother have to know the intricate details of my sex life or lack thereof?!" _Sam fought back the tears. But this was proving so much harder than she'd originally anticipated. It was only dumb luck that the infirmary was nearly empty, and Jennifer's office was sound dampened and the blinds drawn.

"_Sam… Seriously. I'm sorry I had to ask. I'm happy for you please…"_ Jennifer dropped her hand on Sam's shoulder. A supportive squeeze and Sam sniffled. _"… I see a lot of the marines and air force guys and gals around here all frustrated because… well because…"_

Sam scoffed as she laughed despite herself. _"It's not fair for us. Maybe if we were back on Earth and only Earth it'd be different… but out here? I'm surprised we haven't had people go AWOL…"_

Jennifer shrugged, and spoke softly. _"Well…you sorta have… this… this isn't the first time I've been asked about this kinda stuff."_

Sam rose both eyebrows and looked to Jennifer, and realized just how much pressure the poor doctor must be under to keep so many personal secrets for people. _"Uhh… wow… really?"_

Jennifer nodded, and sighed heavily. _"I'm not saying anymore about it. But… you're not alone Sam. Everyone here's human. And humans have… needs."_

Sam felt a little better, but also worse at the same time. She'd fallen from the high perch of responsibility… only to find that she was the only one up there.

---------------------------

"_I… I don't know whether to be honored… or…" _Evan blew a heavy sigh and rubbed his face. _"This is what command feels like huh?"_

John nodded, and looked away. _"Deciding the lives of others sucks… but it's needed. And well… after 2 years of working with you… I'm putting my life in your hands Major, and so is Sam."_

Lorne didn't really know what to say. It was by far the biggest hurdle he'd ever encountered. He just didn't know whether to jump it or pretend it wasn't there. The allusions to his own situation were alarming, and he considered what kind of level of trust John put in him. _"That's… damn…"_

---------------------------

Sam worked in her office and waited. It would be another little while before Teyla arrived from Earth and she'd have to see John again in an official capacity.

She hoped things went well with Lorne. If they didn't… well Ronon would have some company on his upcoming trip.

The knock on her door made her smile. His boyish grin hid nothing. _"Hey."_

"_Hey."_

He walked in nonchalantly, and Sam couldn't help but remember how right it felt to be trapped in his arms all night, the warmth of his skin, the gentle beating of his heart as she lay on his chest. _"Since we're both still here… I'm guessing things went well with Jennifer."_

Sam smiled and shrugged a bit. The implanon would be implanted next week, and in the meantime Sam wanted to avoid… risks. _"You could say that. And I'm guessing Major Lorne isn't running to tell the feds."_

John nodded, and sighed in massive relief. _"He's… happy for us. But he says he's still worried we might… well… conflict of interest."_

Sam sighed, and looked to him. _"We have to agree on this now John… or I'm ending this right here… I'm not going to let my personal feelings get in the way… If I have to, I __**will**__ order you on dangerous missions."_

John nodded again, although idly. _"I'm glad you would. Because you know I'm not going to stop going in face first."_

"_Yeah… well… I'm just glad we're on the same page…" _Sam smiled and realized that words were cheap, would she actually have the guts to order this man on life threatening missions? Or rather, would she be able to keep herself from stopping him when it was his decision? _"I don't really know what we've got John… but whatever it is.. I'm glad we took this risk."_

John smiled, and reached out to touch her hand. _"Me too… and well…just to reassure you… Lorne said he's been thinking a lot about this kinda stuff too since he's got his own problems and well… he's gonna watch us and see how it goes."_

Sam scoffed, and was glad the door shut behind John. _"Great, isn't it ironic the two people we decide to tell are the ones who have the most to gain from its success?" _Sam winced and closed her eyes. This was not going to be easy. _"Just once… I'd like things to be simple… but oh no… the universe likes making things complicated!" _She smiled in the end though, and looked at John. _ "Can't really complain anymore though."_

John smiled, and hearing the Stargate activate knew Teyla was almost home. _"Nope… but now comes the hard part… Once we're done debriefing Teyla, wanna grab a bite?"_

Sam smiled, and recalled John's words the night before. _"It's a date… but what was it you said? 'I don't __**wanna**__ fall in love'?"_

John's grin spanned ear to ear. _"Damn right… gotta love those double negatives."_

They both snickered, and mentally braced themselves for the acting they'd have to do to keep the people who thought they might care from knowing what was going on. Maybe someday they'd make it public, and from the looks of things, maybe this was going to be more than just an affair.

Teyla paid no mind to the fact that John was already inside her office, and simple smiled warmly to them both. Carter smiled back and kept her voice friendly. _"Welcome Back Teyla."_

The Athosian Woman smiled and sat down next to John, her very pregnant belly probably the cause. _"Thank you, believe me, it's good to be back."_

John smirked and his voice was surprisingly mellow. _"So what's new on Earth?"_

_------------------------_

**Final Author's Notes:** Ahhh finally done. I think it fits perfectly in between Trio and Midway, of course anything else in what I now call my "Realizations-verse" AU would still follow the main canon storyline (except for Woolsey taking over which is about as appealing to me as Chimera is to Jack/Sam fans. Seriously the only reason he's there is because Amanda Tapping found success with Sanctuary. Not that I'm disparaging Sanctuary, all props go to Amanda Tapping as she obviously enjoys it! I just prefer SG.)

I might be writing a few short one shots depicting how things would change in this AU with the next few episodes. (emphasis on Midway and The Last Man)

This epilogue is quite different from the original. Mostly because I've begun to sing recently and found I have a pretty good voice. (ever try singing Wicked Game by Chris Isaak? NOT easy to hit that note… and Rusty Cage is one of my favorite Cash covers :P ) Also Wicked Game just happens to fit PERFECTLY with what I think amounts to John and Sam's love life.

If you're a diehard Sam/Jack fan, just change the ending to Sam telling John that she's going to take the risk she originally wanted, and is leaving Atlantis. Hence a GOOD reason for Woolsey to take over. (I'm still peeved off about that) I also added a little Pete Bashing _JUST FOR YOU! :D :D :D_

A million points to whoever gets the Fallout Reference (it's a little obscure, I'd honestly be surprised if someone finds it.)

So anyways… maybe… just maybe expect a few more items down the road if I can bear watching Season 5. (I've seen 4 episodes total, Just not interested at all.)

I WILL be rewriting "Whispers" though as it's one of the episodes I watched that just made me cringe at the obvious teen horror clichés but intrigued me enough to want to see it done right. (Monastery of the Gods was a spiritual rewrite of Whispers. But this time I'm actually going to follow the main Whispers story with a few additions to make it… downright terrifying. Also no ship so it's pure adventure/thriller story)

Other than that, I'm working on Warped Mirror: The Sequel (Argh is the only way to describe my time with it), a John/Larrin story (might end up as a rewrite of Lost Tribe) and a John/Teyla story that's making me wish Aneurisms were a consciously achievable action! (Argh…)

A special thanks to all readers and reviewers! If you've read the original version I'd be giddy to hear what you liked about the new version! Mwah Mwah Mwah! I Lub you all! :D


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